Performance and mental workload dynamics during in-person and virtually-based remote learning of action sequences
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Despite numerous motor learning studies, none investigated performance and mental workload during in-person and remote practice of sequential tasks. This study examined these dynamics during in-person and virtual-based remote learning of goal-oriented action sequences (i.e. the Tower of Hanoi task). Performance and mental workload were assessed via the Levenshtein distance and NASA Task Load Index, respectively. Besides traditional group-based analyses, cluster-based examinations were conducted to identify individual performance patterns. Results revealed that both in-person and remote learning improved performance, reduced mental workload, and enhanced cognitive-motor efficiency. However, performance improved faster in the remote group, potentially by facilitating executive functioning via reduced anxiety and fine sensorimotor control demands. Slower improvement in the in-person group was likely driven by greater variability in performance, with some individuals unable to achieve optimal performance by late practice. These findings can inform human cognitive-motor behaviour during remote learning with implications for tele-robotics and tele-health. Although remote learning is important for applications such as tele-health and tele-robotics, it is unclear how it differs from in-person learning. This work examines performance and mental workload evolution throughout in-person and remote learning. Both learning modalities attenuated mental workload while performance was enhanced albeit more slowly for in-person learning.
Source: Figshare
Language: English
Topic: Motor Control and Adaptation
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7154584981