After-Action Reviews and Long-Term Performance: An Experimental Examination in the Context of an Emergency Simulation

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human Factors Engineering
• Skill Acquisition and Retention

Background:

• Limited research exists on the long-term effectiveness of after-action reviews (AARs) in preventing skill decay.
• Existing studies often suffer from methodological limitations, necessitating further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally examine the effectiveness of after-action reviews (AARs) in mitigating skill decay over an extended period.
• To address the gap in literature regarding the long-term impact of AARs on skill retention.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-four participants were randomly assigned to either an AAR or a control group.
• Participants trained on a PC-based fire emergency simulator, with the AAR group reviewing performance post-session.
• Skill retention was assessed after a 12-week non-use period.

Main Results:

• Participants in the AAR group showed slightly faster skill recovery but also a slightly larger performance degradation after non-use.
• These observed effects were small and did not reach statistical significance.
• The study did not find statistically significant evidence for AARs preventing skill decay.

Conclusions:

• The findings do not support the effectiveness of after-action reviews (AARs) as a long-term skill decay prevention intervention.
• Further research is recommended due to the study's laboratory setting and sample limitations.
• Additional strategies may be needed to enhance long-term skill retention when incorporating AARs.