Play is the beginning of knowledge.
I am a doctoral student at U.C. Berkeley, pursuing my Ph.D. in the field of Cognition and Human Development — basically a mix of psychology and education. I am most interested in research related to sports-based youth development, neural genesis and brain plasticity, and the inter-related studies of motivation, mindset, and achievement in traditional and non-traditional learning environments. I have an M.A. in Education, also from U.C. Berkeley, and earned my undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Government at Georgetown University.
In between my undergraduate and graduate studies, I did business development and operations for both a national health care management firm and a start-up charter school management organization (CMO). I was also the director of student life for an after-school college preparatory program for first-generation college-bound high school students in under-resourced communities.
When not teaching, researching, or writing, I love to explore the trails of the San Francisco Bay Area. I am an avid trail runner, an occasional ultramarathoner, and a full-time wearer of Spandex (which is socially acceptable as the founder of a speed and endurance personal coaching program). I also do independent consulting, project management, and research for various non-profits, especially around issues of academic engagement.
This blog is a humble home for some thoughts that occupy my mind while running; provides an opportunity to share the inspired, hurried scribbles I make in my notebooks during my graduate studies; and is a place to muse about the news related to brain and exercise science.
Please feel free to email me or leave comments with links to studies and articles of interest, or to share your thoughts and opinions on the issues discussed here.
Play, think…
J.R. Atwood
jasonatwood [at] gmail [dot] com
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