EP 228- Train and Pray: What Happens After the Training Ends?

*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-6a70a912-4b0c-83ea-80e4-8435cf4a6e16-3" data-turn-id-container= "request-6a70a912-4b0c-83ea-80e4-8435cf4a6e16-3" data-testid= "conversation-turn-28" data-turn="assistant"> Training matters. But what happens after the training ends?

In this special mini-episode of The Criminologist Podcast, Joseph Arvidson reflects on a question that correctional organizations—and perhaps the broader helping professions—need to ask more often:

How do we know whether training actually resulted in learning, application, and improved proficiency?

Agencies invest significant time and resources in conferences, certifications, curricula, and staff development. We document attendance. We issue certificates. We check the box.

But then what?

Your host introduces what he jokingly calls the "Train and Pray" model—the tendency to provide training and then simply hope that people remember it, understand it, and transfer it into practice.

Using examples from Risk-Need-Responsivity and a memorable golf analogy, this episode explores a different way of thinking about professional development:

Train → Practice → Measure → Reinforce.

The goal is not to diminish the importance of good training. It is to recognize that training is only one part of a larger learning and implementation system—one that should include practice, feedback, reinforcement, and opportunities to demonstrate proficiency.

Joseph doesn't claim to have the entire solution figured out....not just yet!

But he believes this is a question the field should be asking.

What happens after training in your organization—and how do you know whether people can actually apply what they learned?