Kahl holds a Ph.D. in Communication from North Dakota State University. Because of his interests in pedagogy and learning, Kahl conducts research in the areas of communication education, instructional communication, and critical communication pedagogy. Kahl has published articles in state, regional, national, and international journals, with the goal of applying his research to his teaching. He has presented his research at a variety of conferences and has received awards for his work at both the regional and national levels. He currently serves on the associate editorial board of Communication Studies and the editorial boards of Communication Teacher and the Western Journal of Communication. Kahl is also Associate Editor of the International Journal of Doctoral Studies.