A recent study conducted by Texas A&M University has upended traditional assumptions about how teams best learn and retain complex skills. While teamwork is often praised for its collaborative learning benefits, the research reveals a paradox: practising skills alone may be more beneficial to team performance in the long run than group-based refresher training. Published in the journal Human Performance, the study was led by Dr Winfred Arthur Jr., professor of psychology at Texas A&M’s College of Arts and Sciences. His team investigated how individuals and collectives acquire, forget, and regain complicated task-based skills, offering new insights into how organisations might approach training and development.

The research involved 81 participants grouped into 27 three-person teams who engaged in a simulation exercise called Crisis in the Kodiak: Oil Rig Search and Rescue. Participants took on specific roles — including oil rig personnel, helicopter pilots, and boat captains — and collaborated to extinguish an oil rig fire and rescue survivors. Following two days of initial training, the participants returned after an average of 73 days to assess how much of their skills they had retained. Crucially, some began their refresher session working alone, while others resumed immediately in team configurations. The results revealed a striking difference: although teams initially learn more rapidly, they also forget faster unless individual practice is prioritised first.

Dr Arthur and his colleagues suggest that this pattern may be due to the broader skill base developed during collaborative training. Teams, by learning more and doing more together, have more to forget. In contrast, individuals practising solo tend to lose less over time because they often focus more narrowly and retain a firmer personal grasp of their roles. Arthur quipped, “If one does not acquire any knowledge or skill, then one has nothing to lose,” highlighting that teams may suffer more because they initially gain more. Yet the real advantage lies in the sequence of retraining: starting alone enables individuals to re-engage with the task in its entirety mentally, reinforcing their understanding of all aspects of the operation before narrowing their focus within a group setting.

One of the most revealing findings relates to the value of task integration. When individuals are asked to perform the entire task alone — assuming every role in the simulation — they develop a more comprehensive appreciation of how each function interrelates. This, in turn, enhances their ability to perform their specific role within a team more effectively. On the other hand, beginning with team practice restricts participants to a single, limited function and prevents them from re-establishing a holistic understanding of the task. These results align closely with existing strategies such as cross-training and job rotation, which are designed to cultivate broader competence and adaptive thinking across diverse work scenarios.

The implications of this research are far-reaching. Organisations that rely on high-performing teams — including the military, emergency response units, aviation crews, and corporate project groups — may benefit significantly from rethinking how they structure refresher training. Dr Arthur recommends that after a lapse in activity, retraining should begin with individual practice, allowing each team member to re-familiarise themselves with the full scope of the task before transitioning into team-based exercises. While the study was conducted in a laboratory with co-located students, Arthur believes its conclusions apply just as well to remote and distributed teams. In a modern workplace increasingly characterised by digital collaboration, understanding the value of solitary rehearsal in service of collective success may prove vital.

More information: Winfred Arthur Jr et al, A Comparison of Individual and Team Skill Acquisition, Retention (Decay), and Reacquisition Using a Synthetic Task Environment, Human Performance. DOI: 10.1080/08959285.2024.2436171

Journal information: Human Performance Provided by Texas A&M University