Gary Meers, Ed.D.

About me

I am an Education Advisor/Consultant for MaxKnowledge. I write courses that assist in the professional development of career college instructors. These courses range in content from the introductory level to advanced instructional development. I started my teaching career as an instructional technology teacher on the high school level, completed graduate school and then moved into higher education. I spent many years in the area of teacher training at the University of Nebraska. While at the University of Nebraska I stared working with career college instructors to improve their instructional delivery skills. As a result of these experiences I have been a consultant to career colleges throughout the United States and a number of foreign countries.

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Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi James, Sounds both exciting and engaging. I am sure your students are really focused on the content and demonstrations that are given. This really helps to keep them involved in the learning process and honing their problem solving skills. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Hi Sean, Rapport and support are two very important words for instructors to have in their teacher tool box. The more rapport we have with our students the more they will open up to us and if they know we care about their success and are supportive of them their commitment level increases. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Hi Gary, Good point about making your expectations clear. The key word is "listening" which sometimes students forget to do. So we keep reminding them over and over again and they eventually get it and find out that as a result of listening they know what is going on. Surprise! Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor Enthusiasm

Hi Eric, Love your passion about science. You need to come out to my ranch and see some of my birds of prey. I have a number of redtail hawks and three great horned owls that talk to me each night. I have a creek that runs through the ranch and these birds live along the creek where game is plentiful. Sorry, kinda got off track there because I do enjoy science a lot myself, even though it isn't my field. Keep being a "science geek" and enjoy winning your students over to a dedicated instructor that cares about his… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Human Factor in Retention

Hi Jacob, Students need instructors to help them "connect the dots" between what they are studying and how it will impact their career development. You make a good point about how it needs to be ongoing so they can see how they are progressing toward their goals. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Virginia, It is good if you can establish a baseline on your students. I use a pretest to see where my students are so I can plan my instruction from there. What do you use find out where your students are as they come into your course? Thanks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Sheila, Yes, we do. What are some things you do to keep yourself refreshed and excited about teaching? Thanks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Jacob, This is a very good point. What are some of the strategies that you use to identify the learning preferences of your students? Thanks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Nancy, You have a great approach to bringing relevancy and application to each course you teach. The students have "take aways" that will enable them to be more successful in their job searches and career growth. I know this keeps them engaged in what you are teaching and focused on what will come next. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Nancy, Thank you for these comments about how the syllabus can serve as a valuable tool in education planning for both the students and instructor. You are right about your idea of the syllabus being a skeletal framework. The fun part of teaching is getting to put the flesh on the skeletal outline during the coming class sessions. Gary

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