Modelling coaching practice: the role of instruction and demonstration

In this paper, we review the empirical literature pertaining to the effectiveness of instructions and movement demonstrations. Initially, we examine existing theories and approaches that try to explain the process of skill acquisition so as to determine implications of these theories for instructional provision. This is followed by an evaluation of studies in the motor learning literature in which pre-practice information has been manipulated. Explicit learning strategies are contrasted to implicit and discovery learning methods, and current explanations for instructional effects are discussed in terms of such mechanisms as effects-related attentional focus and movement variability. In the final sections, we review data from our own laboratory where pre-practice information has been manipulated during the learning of a novel bimanual coordination task. From these studies, proposals are made to try and explain how pre-practice information works to effect the process of skill acquisition, including the selection and execution of a response and the processing of associated feedback. An important role is given to the existing skills of the learner in understanding the instructions and performing the desired movement. Finally, we suggest some practical implications of this empirical evidence for the teaching of motor skills.     

The effects of anxiety and strategic planning on visual search behaviour

The past decade has witnessed increased interest in the visual search behaviour of athletes. Little is known, however, about the relationship between anxiety and eye movements in sport performers or about the extent to which athletes' planned and actual visual search strategies correspond. To address these issues, we conducted two studies. In Study 1, eight expert female gymnasts were presented with three digital slides of a model performing a skill that is known to be anxiety-provoking in this sport - namely, the 'back flip' on the beam. By varying the height of the beam and the presence or absence of safety mats, the slides differed in the amount of anxiety that they elicited vicariously in the viewer. In the study, the gymnasts were asked to imagine themselves in the position of the depicted model and to describe the anxiety that they felt. As they viewed the slides, their eye movements were recorded. As predicted, anxiety was associated with an increase in the number of fixations to peripheral areas. In addition, the more 'threatening' slides elicited significantly more fixations than the less feared images. In Study 2, the plans of 15 equestrian performers (5 expert, 5 intermediate and 5 novice) were elicited as they engaged in a virtual 'walk' around a computerized show-jumping course. Contrary to expectations, the congruence between intended and actual search behaviour was not significantly greater for expert riders than for the less skilled groups. Also, the fact that the top riders allocated more fixations to slides than the less skilled performers challenged the prediction that expertise would be associated with economy of visual search. Finally, as expected, the expert riders were significantly less dependent on the overall 'course plan' than the intermediate and novice equestrian performers when inspecting the fences.     

Effect of Information Load and Time on Observational Learning

We examined whether altering the amount of and moment when visual information is presented affected observational learning for participants practicing a bowling skill. On Day 1, four groups practiced a cricket bowling action. Three groups viewed a full-body point-light model, the model's bowling arm, or between-limb coordination of the model's left and right wrists only. Following retention tests on Day 2, all participants practiced after viewing a full-body display. Retention was again tested on Day 3. Bowling accuracy improved in all four practice groups. Kinematics of the bowling arm became more like the model for the full-body and intralimb groups only. All groups improved on measures of interlimb coordination. Visual search data indicated that participants mainly focused their gaze on the model's bowling arm. These data lead to the suggestion that viewing “end-effector” information (i.e., information pertaining to the bowling arm) is an important perceptual constraint early in observational learning. Implicit manipulations designed to increase attention to other sources of information did not facilitate the learning process.     

NESTOR: A formal model for digital archives

Archives are an extremely valuable part of our cultural heritage since they represent the trace of the activities of a physical or juridical person in the course of their business. Despite their importance, the models and technologies that have been developed over the past two decades in the Digital Library (DL) field have not been specifically tailored to archives. This is especially true when it comes to formal and foundational frameworks, as the Streams, Structures, Spaces, Scenarios, Societies (5S) model is.     

Book reviews

Paul Goldman, Sporting Life: An Anthology of British Sporting Prints. (London, British Museum Publications, 1983). Pp. 136. £7.95.

Donald J. Mrozek, Sport and American Mentality, 1880–1910. (Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press, 1983). Pp.xx + 284. NP.

Christopher Dodd, The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. (London, Stanley Paul, 1983). Pp.405. £14.95.

Ian T. Henderson and David I. Stirk, The Compleat Golfer: An Illustrated History of the Royal and Ancient Game. (London: Victor Gollancz, 1982). Pp.96. £5.95.

Jean‐Marie Brohm, Sport—A Prison of Measured Time. Essays. (Translated by Ian Fraser). (London: Ink Links, 1978). Pp. ix+ 185. NP.

Robert J. Higgs, Sports: A Reference Guide. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982). Pp.317. NP.

Gary Firth, James Hagerty, Keith Laybourn (eds.), Yorkshire at Play: A Guide to Historical Sources and their Uses. (Leeds: University of Leeds School of Education, 1982). Pp.x + 54. NP.

Sir Walter Gilbey, Sport in the Olden Time. (Liss, Hants: Spur Publications Company, 1975). Pp.[xi] + 117. £7.50.

Capt. L. Fitz‐Barnard, Fighting Sports. (Hindhead, Surrey: Triplegate Ltd. (Learnex), 1983). Pp.viii + 292. £15.00.

David B. Smith, Curling: An Illustrated History. (Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers, 1981). Pp.vii + 232. £12.00.     

Writing about the past: the impact of different authentic instructional material on students’ argument writing in history

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Recent research has repeatedly raised the question of how the authenticity of learning material affects learning outcomes. This question is...     

CLAIRE: A combinatorial visual analytics system for information retrieval evaluation

Information Retrieval (IR) develops complex systems, constituted of several components, which aim at returning and optimally ranking the most relevant documents in response to user queries. In this context, experimental evaluation plays a central role, since it allows for measuring IR systems effectiveness, increasing the understanding of their functioning, and better directing the efforts for improving them. Current evaluation methodologies are limited by two major factors: (i) IR systems are evaluated as “black boxes”, since it is not possible to decompose the contributions of the different components, e.g., stop lists, stemmers, and IR models; (ii) given that it is not possible to predict the effectiveness of an IR system, both academia and industry need to explore huge numbers of systems, originated by large combinatorial compositions of their components, to understand how they perform and how these components interact together.We propose a Combinatorial visuaL Analytics system for Information Retrieval Evaluation (CLAIRE) which allows for exploring and making sense of the performances of a large amount of IR systems, in order to quickly and intuitively grasp which system configurations are preferred, what are the contributions of the different components and how these components interact together.The CLAIRE system is then validated against use cases based on several test collections using a wide set of systems, generated by a combinatorial composition of several off-the-shelf components, representing the most common denominator almost always present in English IR systems. In particular, we validate the findings enabled by CLAIRE with respect to consolidated deep statistical analyses and we show that the CLAIRE system allows the generation of new insights, which were not detectable with traditional approaches.     

“两委会”真拍板

正复旦引进书院制度后,五大书院逐渐形成了各自的特色文化。强调自我管理的志德书院组建学生自我管理委员会(自管会)和学生监督委员会(监委会),被称为"两委会",来决定书院园区事务。大至国际交流、寝室园区改造,小到读书会、浴室开放时间变动,都由学生拍板决定。争执之中见真知的"两委会"当提起"学生自我管理",常是叫好不叫座,有人质疑:想想十八九岁的半大孩子初入大学,鸡蛋炒番茄尚且不会做,何况管理自己呢?书院园区里大小事务都由学生当家作主,是不是"猴子当大王"般好笑?然而走进志德书院的"两委会",你会看到双方委员端坐在会议室里,正经严肃地讨论着书院当前面临的各种问题,颇有指点江山的气派。