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

Instructor Enthusiasm

Hi Lisa, Thanks for sharing your story with us. I can tell from your teaching experiences that you are a dedicated teacher that cares about her students. You are right an enthusiastic instructor that focuses on student outcomes is going to be respected and effective in retaining students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Craig, The mixing up of students is a good plan. The more you can introduce them to other students through small group work and activities the more you are helping them to learn how to work with others once they are out in the workplace. I know this will be of good benefit to your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Linda, The gathering of this information really helps you to understand your students and how you can plan for their learning preferences. Also, the students really appreciate your effort to learn more about them through these methods. This demonstrates to them that you care about them and their success in your course. This establishes a real positive setting for the course to come. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Donna, This is a great way to lay everything out so the students know what to expect and what your requirements are. By signing the contract sheet they are saying they know and understand the course polices. This does much to set the stage for a successful course in the coming weeks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Renee, Great professional development plan. By combining the different approaches to instruction and keeping the student attitude as a learner you are going to increase your expertise as an educator each time you enter the classroom. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Cathy, Good plan. I know you are going to have much success with these activities due to the carry over that you have with your excitement about the field and enthusiasm about being a teacher. All this combines to help you be effective. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Hi Alan, Pacing and flow are key elements of instructional planning. From your description it sounds like you have developed a clear flow path for your Saturday class. Thanks for sharing it with us. I know this will be of help to other instructors that teach long session classes. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Hi Alan, Good way to start your students out slowly and with a low risk approach. They then get to build on their foundational knowledge to do more and more with what they know. This makes learning fun and helps with motivation. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Instructional Professionalism

Hi DeAnn, This is "reading" the setting is all about. You are reading yourself, the environment and your students. Once you have done that you can create a plan that will make your instruction effective and efficient for your students. This will result in engaged and focused students. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Hi Joelle, Thank you for your comments about the different methods of using different intelligences in the learning process. After all these years and research we still know very little about the brain so as we explore different learning methods it helps to keep us interested as teachers and using our creativity to be better at what we do. This is what makes teaching so much fun. Gary

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