 |
|
|
Degree I earned:
What I studied:
|
Ph.D. in Education; self-designed program in applied cognition and development.
The relationship in natural learning between movement, or physical activity, and neural activity—particularly cognitive development related to third-grade students’ math and oral
reading scores. |
| How I paid for it: |
Personal funds and student loans. |
| How long it took: |
Eight quarters and six weeks. I started in March of 2006, and my degree was conferred May 25, 2008. I set up my plan of study for two years, and they said I’d never get it approved. I said, “At least let me try.” |
| What I was doing at the same time: |
I run a mobile fitness program for children called Pre-Fit Inc. I have a staff, but I work nonstop, and I also give teacher training workshops. |
| What kept me motivated: |
I factored in little rewards along the way—like a pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream. A massage was a big reward. If I got enough done during the week, I’d spend Friday evening with my family. |
| How I got it all done: |
I got up at 4 a.m. every day of the year, even if I went to bed at 2. I spent at least 40 hours a week on Walden work—I put in the time to do a quality work product. I completed a class and a KAM every quarter up until the dissertation. Residencies were my favorite time to work—I could meet with many Walden professors during the day and stay up all night to write. |
| Where I studied: |
Everywhere. I took my laptop everywhere I went. If I gave myself a pedicure, I read a book while I was soaking my feet. And I have what I call my “learning lab” at home—it has three desks, two computers, and three printers, so I could do office work as well as Walden work. |
| Best advice I got: |
My first instructor, Dr. Paula Dawidowicz, said to me, “When you go to the residency, make it count—meet everyone you can.” When I look back at my first residency, I see that I actually met everyone who ended up being anything to me in my dissertation process. |
| Best reason to get a doctorate: |
It solidified my life’s work and my life’s passion, and gave me clarity on the direction to take toward future goals. And I gained the knowledge of how to put together a research study—you can read all the books, but until you do real research, there’s nothing like it. |
| Lowest point: |
It went too fast for there to be a low point! |
| Highest point: |
The highest point really and truly had to be getting the approval for my dissertation, and hearing from people that the work I was doing was really significant. |
| What’s next: |
I would love to repeat my study on a larger scale. I did it in three elementary schools, but I’d like to do a districtwide study to see if the results repeat. I recently purchased an infant and toddler learning lab and it’s given me a new age group to work with. |
