What's Shelley doing?

So being back in Eau Claire for the holidays, I've seen lots of people I haven't seen in quite a while...which means that I've been asked several times to talk about what I've been up to...which means that I've tried to explain my master's degree program several times...which I'm not very good at.

So, for the sake of describing my degree, in writing, in a semi-concise way, for anyone who cares to know...here it is...

What is Shelley's degree program?
When I'm finished, I'll have a Master's of Science in Instructional & Performance Technology.

What in the world is "Instructional & Performance Technology?"
The primary focus of the program is on analyzing people problems (and opportunities) in organizations. We learn how to design solutions that (1) directly address the root causes of those problems, and (2) deliver measurable results for the organization.

My program is multidisciplinary, which means that the stuff I'm learning is drawn from a variety of fields. This includes psychology (lots of psych!), sociology, education, communication, anthropology, etc.

Just for the record...the word "technology" here is somewhat nonsensical...it's not a computer/techie type of program.

What kinds of things do people in this line of work do?
Here are some examples...but this is far from being an exhaustive list!

• Analyze people problems in an organization to determine the problems' root cause(s) - these problems are often caused by issues in the workplace and not the people themselves!
  
• Design training programs/workshops for the workplace
  
• Redesign processes for getting things done...for the sake of improving efficiency, quality, employee satisfaction, etc.
• Make recommendations to management on how they can best support/communicate with/motivate/develop/etc. their employees.
  
• Implement learning initiatives in the workplace...like mentoring programs, knowledge management systems, work teams, etc.
• Support a change in the workplace (e.g. merger, new computer system, organizational restructuring) by doing things that support the people side of change, or the psychology of change

Did this help?
So hopefully this clarified things a bit...or maybe it made the waters muddier. If nothing else, here's an over-simplified, semi-accurate, generic way to describe it: Business Psychology.

A Masters degree is just 2-4 years away from a Doctorate

China or Spain. Those seem to be the 2 choices we've narrowed it down to.

When Shelley graduates from her masters program this spring we have decided that we are going to go on another backpacking trip. This will be our big hoorah before Shelley starts full time work with her shiny new degree, because as soon as she does we probably won't be able to take any big trip for at least 2 years. So, we've started to narrow our travel wish list down and the 2 places that seem to keep popping up are Asia and Spain. Asia, because we barely touched it in our last travels and we've both always wanted to go. China, specifically, because it just seems like it would be a really amazing country to backpack through. However, I've always wanted to see Spain. For those of you who don't know, my mom lived in Spain for a time while attending college, and I have memories of coming upon some of her pictures in photo albums when I was really young and being fascinated by them. Spain is one of those countries that ruled much of the world in its heyday and lot of its former grandeur is still present today. Also, Shelley and I have friends living in Spain which we would love to see again.

However, I'm not sure if Spain is also attractive to me because I would feel more comfortable there due to the fact that I know some of the language. It's funny. When we were younger I was much less concerned about jumping headfirst into a country in which we didn't know the language or have much info about at all. But lately as we talk about our upcoming trip I get a little nervous about being thrown into the midst of a country whose customs and language are so different from ours. Meh. I'll get over it.

In other news.......

With the end of this semester Shelley will have finally reached the end of the most difficult class in her program. It's a lot of work. The class is almost like a test of the students' mettle. The assignments are long and arduous and don't result in many points. Also, it is actually designed into the program that it is impossible to get a good score the first time you turn in an assignment (you get to turn in the assignments twice. The first time you turn it in the professor rips it apart as much as he possibly can.).

As for me, work is going well. After much back and forth I finally fenagled a gas card out of my boss in lieu of part of the raise I had recently asked for. Fine by me. THis way I don't have to pay taxes on extra wages and most of the difference would have gone towards gas money anyway. We are definitely keeping busy. Right now we're working on a house built in 1949. It was originally built for the guards from the old penitentiary. I would love to live in this house. It's a little small but it would be very easy to change a few things and add an addition as the back yard is huge. Also, for a house that is 38 years old it is in great shape. The home owner is a middle aged woman who teaches high school for an online school. She seems pretty cool. She has a boyfriend who is an ex marine and very proud of it. He has a really nice Harley in the garage which is plastered with USMC decals. He also has Ka-Bar knife wedged between the seat and the saddlebags. You know, just in case. You can tell he really loves his bike. I met him and he seems like a really cool guy but all week I've been entertaining the idea of putting a Navy decal somewhere not immediately noticeable on the bike.


Well, I guess that's it.

I can't think of any more stuff to write about now.

Until the next one.

-kaz