#320 Dave Bright & Dr Oliver Runswick - Examining and Comparing Learning Conditions for Skill Development

May 19, 2025

In this insightful talk, Dave Bright, a dedicated coach and Senior Lecturer at Chichester University, teams up with Dr. Oliver Runswick, a Senior Lecturer at King's College London. They explore the intricate relationship between cognitive load and skill acquisition, particularly in martial arts. The guests emphasize the 'Challenge Point' concept, discussing how task difficulty can enhance motivation and learning. They also dive into the psychological nuances of coaching in high-stress environments, including the unique challenges faced in sports like UFC and the importance of trust in coach-student relationships.

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ANECDOTE

Dave Bright's Coaching Journey

Dave Bright shared his journey from coaching Wing Chun martial arts for 23+ years to studying sport coaching sciences.
His coaching experience shaped his interest in motor learning and led him into academia for a PhD focusing on cognitive load and motor learning.

INSIGHT

Comparing Motivation and Effort

The paper compares intrinsic motivation (autonomy) versus cognitive effort on motor learning within one task.
Both constructs support learning but had not been directly contrasted before, raising questions about their relative impact.

INSIGHT

High Difficulty Suppresses Learning Benefits

When task difficulty is too high, positive effects of autonomy and cognitive effort on learning are suppressed.
Participants often devised their own strategies, deviating from instructions for better perceived success.

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I’m delighted to speak with Dave Bright and Dr Oliver Runswick in this episode.

Dave is a coach and Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching at Chichester University. His main research interests are in motor learning and its application to practical sport coaching.

Dave has coached martial arts for 25+ years. And it was from his experiences in coaching that led him to do a Sport Science Coaching degree, then a Sport & Exercise Psychology Masters degree.

Dave’s current role requires him to develop undergraduate students as sport coaches, providing them with an awareness and understanding of the underpinning motor learning and coaching research.

Dave is undertaking a PhD investigating the effects of cognitive load and autonomous task selection in motor learning.

Ollie is a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London. His research focuses on understanding and enhancing learning and performance in domains including sport, dance, education, and the military.

Ollie is the Editor in Chief of Perceptual and Motor Learning Skills at Sage Publishing and a Human Performance Technology Consultant providing consultancy in virtual reality applications, skill acquisition and motor learning, perceptual-cognitive skill, training/practice design, talent ID and development, vision in performance and performance systems.

Ollie received a first-class BSc in Sport and Exercise Science from Swansea University, MSc in Human Movement Science from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, PGCHE from St Mary’s University, and PhD from Liverpool Hope University where he studied perceptual-motor skills based with St Mary’s University’s Expertise and Skill Acquisition Research Group.

Dave, Ollie and I discuss a paper they co-wrote along with Dr Jenny Smith, Dr Philip Kearney which compares two learning conditions - task-related autonomy and cognitive effort. Research has shown that both feelings of autonomy (as supported by OPTIMAL theory) and cognitive effort (as supported by Challenge Point) can positively impact skill development. This research paper aimed to compare these two approaches to learning. Results showed no differences between the effects of autonomy and cognitive effort, but uncovered participants use of tactical learning to improve. We unpack the paper and discuss its real-world application for coaching settings.