Effects of concurrent versus sequential presentation in dynamic visualizations on tactical knowledge acquisition: A time-of-day protocol with sport science undergraduates

Recent studies show that tactical knowledge acquisition from dynamic visualizations fluctuates across the day, with a morning advantage over afternoon sessions. However, these investigations relied exclusively on concurrent presentation of information. It remains unknown whether these findings hold when learners receive sequential presentation of information. We addressed this gap by examining how concurrent versus sequential presentation of soccer animations affects tactical knowledge acquisition at different times of day. Fifty sport science undergraduates (Mage = 18.4 ± 1.2 y) voluntarily participated. They completed morning (08:00 h-09:00 h) and afternoon (16:00 h-17:00 h) sessions, studying animated counterattacks in either concurrent or sequential format, followed by an immediate recall test. Heart rate and feeling states were measured at the start of each session. Recall accuracy was higher in the morning than in the afternoon for both groups. This morning advantage was accompanied by lower heart rate and more positive feelings. Diurnal changes in recall accuracy correlated negatively with heart rate and positively with feeling states. Sequential presentation of information led to better recall than concurrent presentation at both times of day, with no interaction between format and time of day. These findings suggest that, pending replication in more ecologically valid settings, physical education teachers may consider using sequential presentation of information in soccer animations - particularly during morning sessions - when communicating tactical instructions to novice learners.