David B. Glover, PhD
Independent Researcher / Adjunct Faculty / Scholar-Practitioner
I research how disciplined practice develops perception and movement and how that learning transfers into everyday life. I am interested in working with universities, research centers, doctoral students, and practitioner communities to turn embodied expertise into rigorous scholarship and applied insight.
My work bridges scholarly theory and practitioner-based inquiry, drawing on ecological approaches to learning to understand adaptation, perceptual refinement, cultural perspectives, and adaptive expertise in complex, real-world environments. Rather than separating theory and practice, I treat practice as inquiry, practitioner expertise as knowledge, and theory as a means of clarifying, testing, and refining what practice makes possible.
Scholarly Research
I am an independent researcher interested in collaborative research, applied consultancy, and visiting scholar appointments at the intersection of ecological learning, embodied practice, and qualitative inquiry. Recent peer-reviewed work spans self-defense, biotensegrity (biomechanics), and high-risk learning environments.
Adjunct Teaching
I teach qualitative research methods, ecological approaches to perception and learning, and martial arts as research sites and practices for personal transformation. I am open to invited adjunct positions, guest lectures, and curriculum design conversations with interdisciplinary graduate programs.
Doctoral Coaching
Many PhD students develop projects that are conceptually ambitious yet difficult to realize within conventional academic expectations and support structures. Throughout the year, I work with a few doctoral students on conceptually ambitious dissertations. Coaching is available on a limited, application-based basis.
What I Am Currently Doing
Active Research Projects:
- Applying principles of biotensegrity to martial arts bo (wooden staff) training.
- How the perception of affordances changes across practices and a lifetime.
- The lived experience of being a participant in a residential, controlled feeding trial.
- The lived experience of an active movement practitioner recovering from shoulder surgery.
Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications:
- Affordances under asymmetry: An ecological analysis of ninpo taijutsu and self-defense against interpersonal violence
- On biotensegrity in martial arts: Forming holistic movement as Westerners learning Eastern arts
- Learning to fail safely: A practitioner reflection on reducing novice attrition through intentional pedagogical design in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mantis Boxing
Available for: collaborative research engagements, consulting in pedagogical & research design, visiting scholar appointments, and invited graduate-level teaching for the 2027–2028 academic year.
Please contact me if interested.