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.

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Instructor REFOCUS

Hi All, What are some methods you have found that really help you with REFOCUSING and keeping your excitement high for your field and your course? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Hi Scott, Very true. We have to be flexible because we cannot account for different variables that might cause us to get off our schedule a bit. So informing the students that there may be some variance from the syllabus in terms of schedule is an important thing to do. They need to realize though that you are talking about just the schedule and that the assignments and course requirements listed in the syllabus are going to remain constant. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Hi Richard, I think it is great that you have the syllabus posted two weeks in advance. This should help the students to feel more comfortable at the start of the course because they have had time to read and digest what the syllabus is telling them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Geraldyne, I like your approach because it helps to keep the students on their toes. You are going to come at them with some questions about the topic sometime during the class so they need to be prepared to answer. This helps to keep them engaged. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivation Through Relevancy and Application

Hi Greta, Good point. Simple short word but essential in the instructional process. The students need to know the "why" of their learning process. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi June, Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. This is great advice for new instructors. The information needs to be clear and concise in order to reduce student frustration and repeated questions about "What to you want me to do in this course?". Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Hi Ellen, Openings like you are using are great ways to get everyone settled into the course and feeling comfortable with what is going to occur in the coming weeks. Great job. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Effective Motivation Techniques

Hi Kristi, You are right about the students using their family and friends as motivation tools. If we can key in on this and encourage them as needed they will get fired up and work hard to be successful for their family and friends. We need to work hard at keeping them connected to their motivation bases as much as possible. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Effective Motivation Techniques

Hi Lisa, Good methods to help with motivation. The key is that you are showing them that you care about them personally and this is so important to their success. Thanks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Developing Student Rapport

Hi Craig, I use small group panels (3-5) students to present topics. The panels are mixed well so I have all the different student groups represented on each panel. I spend time with each panel as they work for a couple of sessions getting ready for their presentation. This way I talk with and spend time with each student and I can develop rapport with them even if they are shy or reluctant to talk in class. I also, greet each student as they come into class and try to spend a few seconds with them. I ask them questions… >>>

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