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

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Hi Doug, Well said. You have a number of approaches that you are using to reach your students and this way you are not leaving some of your students out of your instructional delivery process. This is critical to teaching success and you are being the instructional delivery expert that your students need. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Reasons for Enrolling

Hi Dale, Good strategy. I think this is really going to help set the stage for the development of respect and rapport with your students at a much greater level. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Marion, I do a baseline assessment and then a small group problem solving activity. These two strategies quickly give me a picture of how my students settle out in terms of experience. Then I am able to put them in their work groups based upon their strengths. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Human Factor in Retention

Hi Jacki, Good point! This is why the human factor is a critical part of the total instructional process. Students need to know they have a caring supportive instructor. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Christina, Well said. This is why it is so important to make sure you set the stage for a good first impression when starting a new class. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Reinforcement as Motivation

Hi Abigail, This belief is the basis for respect and rapport. With these two each student will know you are there to help them be successful if they will put forth the effort. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Hi Karen, Keep up the good work. You are becoming an instructor of merit through your efforts to expand and improve your abilities in their area of meeting student learning preferences. The key is your great attitude for continual development. I have been teaching for many years and I'm still "getting there" each time I meet a class. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Valuing Student Opinions

Hi Brenda, This is what career preparation is about. Learning how to adapt to the situation, problem solve when needed and be successful in the outcome. Keep up the good work in helping your students to become successful. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Hi Christina, You raise a very common question. Most foundational or core instructors face this situation. I teach such courses myself and so I face the same questions from students as do you. What I have done is to sit down with the instructors in the career areas and talk with them about specific uses of written and oral communication, math, etc. Then I take their input and create examples of how my course content will be used. I don't always get the best integration but it does help the students to see the application phase of my course. In… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Jennifer, Thank you for sharing this great example of how the instructor must set the professional tone for the class. You are right about doing a disservice for students by not setting the standards from day one. It is much easier though it may not seem like it at the time to do it from the beginning as you say rather than trying to correct the situation later in the course. Gary

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