Practicum Evaluation:

Research with Dr. Harrison

Beth Fredricks

Arizona State University

June 26, 2006

Beth Fredricks

For the last month and a half I have participating in a practicum with Dr. Harrison, an Arizona

State University College of Education professor, to learn more about useful methods for the

presentation of academic research and explore the many ways academics impact college

athletes. When reviewing my practicum proposal, my initial goals were to; 1) engage in

research at the university level outside my coursework, 2) learn more about student-athletes,

something I have not had much experience with, and 3) use the knowledge gained through

this practicum in my future work with college athletics. Through my two-credit practicum

with Dr. Harrison I have been able to explore and understand all three of my initial goals.

This practicum has given me the chance to investigate many topics in a short amount of time.

For the last six weeks, I have constantly worked on projects ranging from background

research to academic image creation. The most important skill acquired through this

practicum experience is how to present data in many forms. Through my graduate

coursework at Arizona State University I have had to use research to support many ideas in

paper and presentation form, but until this practicum I had never done narrative research,

survey creation or visual research presentation. I am glad to have had the opportunity to

explore these modes of research and presentation outside of class. I enjoyed being a part of a

one-on-one setting with a researcher in a field I have an interest in. In a graduate course the

student is part of a group (the class) but submits individual work for grading/comments.

Coursework is individual but there are times students can blend into the group. In working

with Dr. Harrison, I was the audience and the contributor in one and received individual

attention at all times. I enjoyed letting my work shine through and being accountable for

everything over the duration of my practicum.

The main theme that ran through all my practicum projects was the Scholar-Baller™

program. This program is designed to recognize student-athletes on and off the field for their

academic achievements. The program involves academic competition, recognition and a

unique curriculum. When I first heard about the program I was only slightly interested in the

concept of Scholar-Baller™ because I work within athletics and my coursework focuses on

academics. But after going through this practicum I find it exceptional to see this distinctive

program’s combination of academics and athletics to support education and sport

performance.

The projects I worked with focused on the following main areas: converting numerical data

into presentations and visual representations, creating press releases and public address

announcements, communicating with educators and student-athletes directly related to the

program, creating mission statements for all Scholar-Baller™ programs, and basic research of

great scholar-athletes and academic reform. I had the opportunity to analyze data from the

Illinois State University and Arizona State University Scholar-Baller™ program student-

athlete participants. I created power point presentations and academic-athletic images that

exemplified the program’s results for Dr. Harrison to use for academic presentations within

and outside of those schools. I used my current technology knowledge to research and find

out how to link up a student-athlete survey that will aid in research opportunities to the

Scholar-Baller™ website. I also had the opportunity to use my creative instincts I usually use

during my marketing career to create press releases and public address announcements the

first high school Scholar-Baller™ district can use to bring positive attention to and promote

the program. By surveying student-athlete participants and asking education professionals for

quotes, I was able to gain a complete understanding of this program from the people who

interact with and use it to improve academic performance. By creating mission statements for

all current and future Scholar-Baller™ programs such as Scholar-Baller™ Community

College, Scholar-Baller™ High School and even Scholar-Baller™ Elementary school, I was

able to apply my program knowledge to opportunities that may be in the future. In simply

researching past and current scholar-athletes and academic reform I gained a better

understanding of the role academics plays in the life of a student-athlete and in the university

as a whole.

Before beginning my research I knew this practicum would give me a better understanding of

the role academics plays in a student-athlete’s life, but I had no idea how academic reform

impacted the athletic department and university. This experience has given me the

opportunity to work with data I was interested in but never had approached before. I was able

to fully understand the Scholar-Baller™ program and see that academic reform programs tied

to athletics can impact education all the way through to the elementary school level. All of

my research through this practicum can be used in any of my upcoming classes to support and

add to class discussion, coursework and additional research. I am hoping the research I

helped out with during this practicum will eventually aid in the construction of my capstone

paper at the culmination of my graduate coursework.

When imagining my future career goals I know I will always have an interest in continuing

my position within collegiate marketing. This particular research will help me present many

aspects of a student-athlete in promotional materials and at events. My office currently

partners with Arizona State University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions to create

elementary student fieldtrip days to specific sports where at the event the elementary students

complete an academic/athletic workbook to learn more about the sport while using reading,

math and other skills. After the event is finished our athletes speak to the elementary students

about the importance of college and staying in school. I would like to continue to emphasize

academic initiatives at future athletic events during my professional career in collegiate

athletic marketing. I also feel it is important to know what is going on in all levels of the

athletic department and not only be involved in my specific work. This practicum has given

me the basic information and history to understand student-athlete academic recognition and

performance programs. During my professional career I will be able to build upon this

information to continue to promote and present the most positive image of academic success

within athletics.