Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation

[SWC75]

For a time, I had a corporate training responsibility.

What was taught and how effectively it was taught was a huge challenge for us. It affected the factory floor, the technicians that serviced our equipment, the analysts that supported it and the sales people, who were supposed to be experts.

We spent a bunch of money on training and not all of it was well spent because of weaknesses in training design and in our ability to understand just what had been learned.

So the value of this degree goes beyond Education. And it's not "basket weaving". The subject matter is pretty difficult.

Does it seem strange that every 5th year player on the basketball team is pursuing a Master's Degree in that course of study?

 

[BlackSquirrels]

 

[RF2044]

Does it seem strange that every 5th year player on the basketball team is pursuing a Master's Degree in that course of study?

Not to me. With experience, those can be six-figure jobs.

Again, this isn't some phony major.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Does it seem strange that every 5th year player on the basketball team is pursuing a Master's Degree in that course of study?

It's probably a good match up of things a student-athlete can actually do time wise with their athletics commitments, plus being a "field for the future."

 

[OttoMets]

Not to me. With experience, those can be six-figure jobs.

Again, this isn't some phony major.

I agree with the claim that "instructional design" is not a BS course of study.

With regard to this program, though, of course it's noteworthy that 100% of SU's graduate basketball players (all, or nearly all of whom, majored in CRS or CFS) have enrolled in this graduate program. It's not for the career prospects, interesting subject matter, or academic rigor.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think this is the program Rak did too.

 

[OttoMets]

I think this is the program Rak did too.

It is. And he's no dummy. In fact, his academic interests weren't viewed entirely favorably by some. Thus the enrollment in this particular graduate program.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

It is. And he's no dummy. In fact, his academic interests weren't viewed entirely favorably by some. Thus the enrollment in this particular graduate program.

I'm guessing as in, he was more academically minded than most?

 

[Townie72]

Does it seem strange that every 5th year player on the basketball team is pursuing a Master's Degree in that course of study?

It's interesting.

But I can see the wheels in your brain turning and subtly suggesting that there is some essential scam at work here. That this is some sort of gut course of study. (Please don't try and suggest you are not. It's insulting.)

It may be that it is interesting and that there are a lot of job opportunities in the field and that one guy tells another guy.

A lot of potential gold miners showed up in California in 1850. It didn't mean gold mining was easy.

 

[OttoMets]

I'm guessing as in, he was more academically minded than most?

Like Craig Forth and Kueth Duany before him.

And what are all three of those guys remembered for?

 

[SU2NASA]

It's not rocket science.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

It's not rocket science.

Yeah whatever NASA guy.

 

[SWC75]

At our senior day all of our 5th year basketball players were pursuing a major in “Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation”. It led me to look up the majors of our basketball and football players from the current Media Guides for those sports.

BASKETBALL

The three guys in Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation are DaJuan Coleman, Andrew White and John Gillon.

Frank Howard, Tyler Roberson and Taurean Thompson are in the “David Falk College of Sports and Human Dynamics”

Paschall Chukwu and Tyler Lydon are in “Rhetorical Studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts”

Tyus Battle is in the “School of Information Studies”


I did the football team just as a stroke tally:

21 players are in “Communication and Rhetorical Studies”, which I assume is the same as what Chukwu and Lydon are studying.

15 are in the “David Falk College of Sports and Human Dynamics”

9 are in “Child and Family Studies”

6 are pursuing a Masters in “Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation”
(They are Alvin Cornelius, Jason Emerich, Michael Lasker, Wayne Morgan, Amba Etta-Tawo and De’Jon Wilson, the first four are redshirt seniors and the last two grad transfers. I wonder: did they get their Masters or did they just ‘pursue’ it?)

6 are enrolled in the “College of Arts and Sciences” (So was I, back in the day.)

4 are enrolled in “Health and Exercise Science”, another in “Health and Physical Education”. I’m not sure what the difference is or if there is one.

3 are enrolled in “Sports Management”

2 guys are “Selected Studies in the School of Education” and one more was just “School of Education”, (Non-selected studies?)

2 guys had a dual major in Finance and marketing Management

2 guys each were studying Psychology, Sociology, Accounting and “Information Management and Technology”.

2 more were pursuing a Masters in “Television, Radio and Film“. Cam McPherson already had a degree in that and also in international relations and was pursuing a Master’s in Pan African Studies.

2 guys had no course of study listed. Per Syracse.com, they (Michael Moore and James Pierre), failed to qualify academically.

1 guy each was in:

- African-American Studies

- Broadcast and Digital Journalism

- Economics

- Finance

- A dual major in Finance and Real Estate

- Management

- Biology

- Public Health

- Social Work

- School of Information Studies

- Engineering and Computer Science

- Donnie Faster has a triple major in Finance, Management & Marketing Management



I think these are all legitimate academic courses. I think the ones most popular with athletes have either a flexible schedule that would allow them to pursue success in their sport and/or (probably and) a tangential relationship to a career in sports as an athlete, coach, manager or broadcaster. The varied courses taken by 1-2 players show that a course of academic study leading to profession outside of sports is also possible. I don’t think it can be denied that the Falk College, the Rhetorical Studies and child and Family Studies, while legitimate, (compared to what happened at UNC), are being used to house athletes whose real ambitions are on the field or court. And that Masters in Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation, while also legitimate, serves the same purpose for 5th year players and for attracting grad transfers.


It’s not that Syracuse is doing this and nobody else is. I’m sure this is what all the big-time schools are doing, because that’s what they have to do to compete in the revenue sports and allow players to remain eligible as students. I’ve advocated for years that sports should be considered an academic course and the athletic departments should be considered Schools of Athletics or Academies of Sport. Players could spend their time not only learning to play their games but learning to teach them, studying sports management, nutrition, strength and conditioning, public speaking, investments, maybe something about taxes, etc. The above courses sound like the sort of things they would take in such a school, so maybe we’ve already got that without declaring it officially.

 

[SWC75]

It's interesting.

But I can see the wheels in your brain turning and subtly suggesting that there is some essential scam at work here. That this is some sort of gut course of study. (Please don't try and suggest you are not. It's insulting.)

It may be that it is interesting and that there are a lot of job opportunities in the field and that one guy tells another guy.

A lot of potential gold miners showed up in California in 1850. It didn't mean gold mining was easy.

I would take out the word suggesting, as it implies knowledge that I don't have, and insert "wondering", which is why I posted it as a question.