A Team Training Field Research Study: Extending a Theory of Team Development

Area of Science:

• Team Science
• Applied Psychology
• Military Training

Background:

• Advances in team science identify key attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors of high-performing teams.
• Training interventions effectively improve team competencies and address team dynamics.
• There is a growing need for field studies in isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments to understand team development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an integrated team training approach for U.S. Army squads.
• To improve Tactical Combat Casualty (TC3) skills in a practical, time-efficient manner.
• To address the challenges of training in resource-limited and time-constrained environments.

Main Methods:

• An applied research experiment was conducted.
• An integrated team training approach was developed and implemented.
• Training effectiveness was evaluated based on learning, team cognition, emergent processes, and performance.

Main Results:

• The integrated team training approach significantly improved learning, team cognition, and performance.
• Effective team training best practices were shown to enhance emergent team processes.
• The study demonstrated the value of prioritizing effective training strategies for optimizing implementation.

Conclusions:

• Integrated team training is effective for improving critical skills like TC3 in military squads.
• Future research should focus on scalable training strategies for different levels of team expertise.
• Developing automated tools and sensitive indicators is crucial for understanding and supporting team development dynamics.