An eye-tracking study of how coach's nonverbal communication affects memorization of basketball tactical scenes

Numerous studies have been conducted to examine the effects of an instructor's pointing gestures on learning performance across a wide range of academic domains. There are, however, few clear instructional guidelines for enhancing learning from this visual guidance. This study tested the combined effects of the coach's pointing gesture and gaze guidance on attention and recall performance in field-based sports. This study used a 3 (control vs. gesture vs. gesture/gaze) × 2 (novice vs. expert) between-subjects factorial design. Results showed a significant interaction effect between expertise level and experimental conditions on visual attention and memorization performance. Novice players scored higher after studying tactical instructions with pointing gestures and gaze guidance than players who studied the same instructions with pointing gestures, who in turn performed better than players who received instructions without cues. Expert players showed the same level of performance when they received the instructions without cues and with pointing gestures. However, they showed lower performance (notably in the visual attention and the mental effort measures) when they received the video with pointing gestures and gaze guidance compared to the instructions without gestures and with pointing gestures. These results suggest that the effectiveness of nonverbal visual guidance changes depending on the players’ level of expertise.