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.

Activity

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivation Through Relevancy and Application

Hi Francis, Good point. This is why we go back to the classroom day after day. The "ah-ha" moments that our students give us when they get it. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Motivators

Hi Mitchell, Great way to use personal experiences to bring current instructional practice into the classroom. We can never forget what it was like to be a student and remember those instructors that impacted our lives and our learning. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Student Rapport

Hi Francis, Thank you for sharing this personal experience with us. You made an excellent point that we need to be aware of when we are starting a class. We need to connect with our students and let them know we care about them and their success. This will result in the development of rapport with the students and everyone involved with have a positive experience as a result. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Retention Strategies

Hi Emily, Good points about student retention. How do you bring the students into the class discussion in a way that makes them feel their contributions are valued? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Valuing Student Opinions

Hi Joseph, Good way to be reactive to am emerging situation. The students brought to the class a series of discussion points that expanded the original lecture points and they got to make the connection between the classroom and the real world. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Tracy, Good plan for having a continual professional development plan going. You are looking at the classroom/lab through the eyes of the students so you can target their needs as you progress through the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Hi Michael, I like this way of creating a baseline on your students. From there you can build the instructional plan that you want to use for the course. You can customize it because you know your students' needs. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Increasing Student Retention

Hi Ann, Great way to establish rapport with your students. It is amazing how a little time spent with each student will result in great returns. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Steve, You will do find with this area of instruction if you practice the "hands-on" activity a few times. If something happens during the demonstration use humor to move through the problem and the students will appreciate it. The key is to be deliberate in your delivery, make sure everyone can see and stop frequently for questions and your demonstration will go fine. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Motivation Techniques

Hi Raymond, Good plan for showing student progress. This should keep the students engaged and motivated since they can see their progress. Gary

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