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Dr. Dave Kreiner
Dr. Dave Kreiner
Dave Kreiner retired in 2026 as a Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Central Missouri, where he taught and mentored students on research for 36 years. He earned a BA in psychology and a PhD in human experimental psychology, both from the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught courses including General Psychology, Research Design & Analysis I and II, Cognitive Psychology, and a capstone course, History of Psychology. He considers himself a “research enabler” who collaborates with students and colleagues on their research interests, in addition to having a longstanding interest in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Kreiner was part of the team that created the APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major 3.0. He is the 2026 co-chair of APA's Committee on Associate and Baccalaureate Education (CABE) and will serve as President of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2) in 2027. Dr. Kreiner is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 2 and 3), Association for Psychological Science, Midwestern Psychological Association, and the Psychonomic Society.
Keynote Address
Take a Sip of SOTL: Why and How Students Can Do Research on Teaching and Learning
Students can benefit from getting involved in research in multiple ways. Research experience can help students improve their analytical, organizational, and communication skills, and these skills prepare students for a variety of career paths. The goal of this presentation is to explain why students should consider doing research on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and offer advice on how they can do so successfully. We will discuss and reframe reasons why students (and faculty) may be discouraged from doing research on teaching and learning. These reasons include the idea that researchers should not pick topics with which they are personally involved and the claims that SoTL is not rigorous, is not a legitimate area of research, and will not be valued by graduate programs or employers. In contrast, engaging in SoTL has numerous benefits. These benefits include opportunities to practice implementing research design concepts in a variety of situations; experience in applying ethical principles when the researchers also have educational roles (e.g., professors doing research with their students as participants); and the potential to have a meaningful impact on educational practice. We will explore several examples of SoTL research to illustrate both the challenges that arise and the value for students of engaging in this type of research. Finally, the presentation will include advice for students who would like to get started in the world of SoTL. The theme of the presentation is that students should give themselves permission to do research in whatever areas are interesting to them, whether or not that includes SoTL.
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