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PhD Connect: Fall 2020

Quarterly Updates from the PhD Psychology Program

Welcome to Fall Quarter, 2020

Dr. Amy SickelFirst off, let me say I hope you and your loved ones are remaining safe and healthy. We are in what feels like an unprecedented time of national stress, coming at us from many angles and, as always, we need to remember to take extra good care of ourselves and others. I hope that you can let your work here at Walden be a mindful respite.

Highlighted here in our newsletter, we have several exciting new ‘toolkits’ as I like to call them. We also have webinars lined up for students and faculty, so please be sure to check those out. We are planning, as well, to add some podcasts to our resources and will keep you all posted. If you have any suggestions for webinars or podcasts you would like to see us provide, please reach out to Dr. Donna Heretick, who coordinates our newsletter: donna.heretick@mail.waldenu.edu.

Our spotlight this quarter highlights our teaching specialization.

Commensurate with that, students in our PhD Psychology Fellowship program are currently applying for our first ever teaching assistantships. While this opportunity is available only to those students within that fellowship, we are excited to roll out the program to see if it might be something we would want to expand upon in the future. We are pleased that our current program of study allows all students to choose either a research or teaching practicum, as we have heard from so many students in the past that you want more opportunities to sharpen teaching skills.

Our spotlight on Dr. Bigatti this issue, reminded me of the psychology professor at my undergraduate institution who got me hooked on social psychology. Not only was the class content entirely fascinating but when taught by an enthusiastic, engaged, and socially minded instructor, I very quickly realized my major would be psychology and that social psychology was particularly salient to my way of thinking. While that experience was of course, many moons ago, my passion for the field and for instructors who engage, guide, and empower has only intensified. The indelible power of teachers.

Thank you all for your work!

Amy E. Sickel, Ph.D.

 

PhD Psychology Leadership Team

Dr. Amy Sickel, Program Director (amy.sickel@mail.waldenu.edu)

 

Dr. Donna Heretick
Program Coordinator
donna.heretick@mail.waldenu.edu

Dr. John Agnew
Program Coordinator
john.agnew@mail.waldenu.edu

 

Dr. Heretick is the newsletter coordinator. Please email her any information or suggestions you may have! 

Valuable Resources for Success

COVID 19 Resources

Walden Resources

 

Library Quick Tip: Ask a Librarian

Need help with finding peer reviewed, full text articles for assignments, discussions?

Librarians are available to answer questions 7-days a week via email or chat!

Simply click the Ask a Librarian button here or at the Library website.

 

American Psychology Association Podcasts and Webinars

American Psychological Association

Curated list of  psychology podcasts from the APA

Upcoming Walden Psychology Student Webinars 

Open to all psychology students

8 PM Eastern Standard Time, 1st Wednesday of the month

At the time of the webinar, go to the Zoom meeting room (audio and video).   Meeting ID: 558 534 9068

  • November 4, 2020: Selecting Tests and Measures for Your Research.  
  • December 2, 2020: Considering Research with Secondary Data?  
  • January 6, 2021: New Year's Resolutions for your Dissertation Journey 2021
  • February 3, 2021: Qualitative Designs: Special Topics
  • March 3, 2021: Online Survey Research

Archived recordings and PowerPoint presentations

 

Coming Soon! Podcast and video series now in production.

Watch for more information in coming emails and newsletters.

  • Quantitative Designs and Analyses with Dr. Tom Diebold
  • Qualitative Designs and Analyses with Drs. Sue Marcus, Susana Verdinelli, and guests

Upgrade to SPSS 27

Dissertation mentors, faculty, and students: Version 27 of SPSS offers several significant advantages over previous versions. 

  • Functionality added to SPSS Statistics Base Edition previously present in the Bootstrapping Module and Data Preparation Module
  • New Power Analysis and Weighted Kappa procedures for power analysis
  • Enhancements to effect size, MATRIX, and Quantile regression procedures
  • Usability and productivity enhancements, including to auto-recover files in the event of an unexpected application shutdown, new search capabilities, and new output 
  • Improved APA style formatting options.

To download:

Program Spotlight: PhD Psychology-Teaching in Psychology

Focus and Curriculum

The Teaching in Psychology specialization prepares students to integrate psychological theory and practice, using scientific methods and evidence-based practice to inform undergraduate and graduate instruction that incorporates issues of cultural and individual diversity.

The core curriculum for PhD in Psychology with a Specialization in Teaching in Psychology (BS level entry):

Quarter 1

Quarter 2

Quarter 3

Quarter 4

Quarter 5

Quarter 6

Quarter 7

Quarter 8

PSYC 9000 - Dissertation

 

In addition to the core curriculum for the PhD in Psychology, the specialization curriculum for Teaching in Psychology includes:

Fast Track options are available for those who enter with a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Careers in Teaching & Applications

Psychology Teacher: Job, Education and Salary Information: Resilient Educator, Updated September 1, 2020

Personal Journeys: Faculty, Dr. Silvia Bigatti

Dr. Sylvia BigattiI became a full-time university professor because I thought a life of learning and sharing, a life surrounded by eager and curious minds, wanting to know, was the best possible life.  I still think so. What I didn’t know was that it was so much more than that. As a university professor, I teach, do research, serve the university, and as an expert in my field, I also serve the community and the country.  The diversity of work tasks that a large university professor performs is probably what is least understood by students who, like me, decided to pursue this career. 

Teaching, like just about everything else, requires constant learning and effort.  Maybe more than many other professions, teaching requires change, because our student populations change, and the knowledge base of the fields change, and the tools we use for teaching change.  This is not a problem or disadvantage.  This keeps our minds sharp and our energy high. In my efforts to be a better teacher I’ve even done research on teaching and published it.  Helping student achieve their academic and life goals is worth the effort and likely makes teaching one of the most rewarding aspects of the life of a university faculty member. It is possible to teach at the college level without being a full-time professor. Many professionals find ways to teach a class or two per year by serving as adjunct instructors at nearby universities. In this way, they continue their profession and still benefit from the joys of teaching. 

Professors are also considered experts in a field of study, in my case, health psychology.  I am expected to use that expertise to advance science through research and dissemination of my research. In my research, I collaborate with other scientists and train students who want to become researchers themselves.  Research is fascinating as you get to ask important questions and seek the answers.  I enjoy the process itself, probably more than the outcome, and that keeps me going, coming up with more questions and finding ways to answer them.  Not all professors will conduct research. There are settings, such as community colleges or small universities, where instead of having research responsibilities, professors teach more.  There are many ‘lives’ for academics, so it is important to know what the expectations are when looking for academic jobs. 

Finally, a professor is typically expected to serve.  Serve the university on committees, serve the science by contributing, serve professional organizations, and serve the country.  On any given year, I attend many meetings of committees that are addressing issues within the university.  I have served on various capacities for professional organizations related to my area of expertise, and I regularly serve as grant reviewer for national/federal units, like the National Institutes of Health. My favorite service activities are within my local community.  I serve on boards for organizations, small and large, that work toward improving the health of the community. If you earn a doctorate, it is unlikely that you will avoid this role.  A doctorate is a special degree and you will, over time, be sought out for service here and there. Be ready, it is one more way to work toward social change. 

Presentations, Publications, and Social Change Activities by Faculty, Staff, Students

Students, please send us information on your dissertation projects following approval by the Institutional Review Board. Please identify your topic, briefly summarize your design, and any findings to date. Also, list your committee members. We will post  in future newsletters.

Send to: donna.heretick@mail.waldenu.edu

Faculty Publications 

Presentations 

  • Schleckser, H., & Weinbaum, E.E. (2020). New ways to learn online. [Presentation]. Presentation given at the World ORT Educators Forum 2020. Virtual.  
  • Stadtlander, L., & Sickel, A. E. (2020, Oct. 2). Home as Workplace for Faculty During COVID19 Self-Isolation. Paper presented at Walden University Research Conference, Minneapolis MN.  
  • Stadtlander, L., & Taylor, R. (2020, Sept. 22 & 23). Office of Research and Doctoral Services (ORDS) Overview. Webinar for College of Education Faculty, Walden University.   
  • Vandehei, A. (2020).  Meat-Eating Justification and Relationship Closeness with Vegetarian Family, Friends, and Romantic Partners. Poster presented at the Walden University Research Conference, Sept. 24 – Oct 9, Minneapolis, MN. [Amy Vandehei, Ph.D. (Walden University, General Psychology, 2020).  Committee: Drs. Perry (chair), Dexter (SCM), Galaif (URR).]   
  • Weinbaum, E.E., & Schleckesr, H. (2020). Change matters. [Presentation]. Presentation given at the University of Phoenix Knowledge Without Boundaries Conference. Virtual.

In press  

  • Kao, T-C., Kazman, J. B., Cheng, Y.-H., Jeffery, D. D., & Deuster, P. A. (2020). Healthy lifestyles among military active duty service members and associations with body building and weight loss supplement use. Annals of Epidemiology. In press.  
  • Wooten, N. R., Hossain, A., Jeffery, D. D., & Spevak, C. J. (2020). Opioid prescribing to U. S. Army Afghanistan and Iraq veterans, FY2008-2015. JAMA Network Open. In press.  

Social Change Activities 

Dr. Diane Jeffery serves as a member of two advisory boards for the Cancer Support Community (CSC): The Research & Training Institute, Philadelphia, PA, and the Cancer Policy Institute, Washington, DC. CSC is a non-profit organization which provides free support (emotional, economic, and practical) to individuals going through cancer treatment and post-treatment, and support to their families.                

Current Research Activities

* Open to future collaboration with other faculty and students

  • Dr. Diane Jeffery: With three other social scientists also part of the Scientific Network on Female Sexual Health and Cancer, we are conducting analysis of sexual minorities with cancer and other chronic diseases. We started in June 2020 and should have our first manuscript submitted by November 2020. 
  • *Drs. Jesus Tanguma and Donna Heretick: Confirmatory factor analysis of the Attitudes toward Research (ATR) scale. 
  • *Dr. Donna Heretick, Dr. Jessica Holmes, and Inna Learn: Source of information and secondary bystanders’ responses to sexual harassment in academia (male professor-female student victim).

Dr. Holmes is a graduate of Walden and recently completed a 2-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship with the PhD Psychology Program.

If you are interested in joining this list of those who are interested in collaborating with other faculty or considering student volunteer assistants, please send your information to Dr. Heretick: donna.heretick@mail.waldenu.edu 

As noted earlier, please send us information on your dissertation projects following approval by the IRB. Please identify your topic, briefly summarize your design, and any findings to date. Also, list your committee members. We will post that information  in future newsletters: donna.heretick@mail.waldenu.edu.

Opportunities for Grants and Funding Sources

Walden Grants

Social Change Grant: application deadline, November 2

Faculty Research Funding Resources

Student Research Funding Resources

Please let us know if you have received any grant funding for research or projects. Indicate if you identified yourself  as affiliated with Walden University. Send information to: donna.heretick@mail.waldenu.edu.