The academic psychologist as a convener of information: Implications for the scholarship of integration and (online) teaching

Historically, the role of the academic psychologist has been fairly set. It has been general practice to emphasize the importance and role of empirical research within the history of psychology. As a means to convey information derived from this source, academic psychologists (like most other academics) have relied on the traditional method of face-to-face communication when teaching students. These means and methods still have considerable relevance and importance to the general field of psychology even though, as discussed in this paper, they have noticeable limitations. This paper aims to stimulate thinking about how and why academic psychology does not need to be rigidly bound by these traditions. In doing so, an alternative role for the academic psychologist is proposed, as a convener of information employing the scholarship of integration. Several examples of how integrative scholarship can be achieved and undertaken in psychology are presented along with a consideration of how the scholarship of integration advances psychological science and the teaching of it.