so then "Expert Beginner phase" = local minima, which might be reached quickly compared to a more systematic search (practice informed/infused with theory) and once in that local state, the "expert beginner" might be unable to escape because of over-reliance on small, poorly guided, step size; the real prize anyway is the global minima.
We don't know from this study whether the second group was more or less likely to get trapped in the Expert Beginner phase of development.
You definitely don't get anywhere without practice, but you are likely to get nowhere fast without theory.