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.