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

Your Instructional Style

Hi Kari, This is a good point. You support and mentor and do what you can do. The students will appreciate this will inspire them to work harder in the classroom while pushing some of the baggage into the background if only for a while. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Jay, Welcome to the education profession. I can tell you are going to have a great career in teaching. As you gain more experience as an instructor you will start to see how you can teach more effectively and that will free up some time to use different delivery formats and you won't feel so constrained by time and load. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Hi Laura, You raise a very good question because you can easily overwhelm students with all of the operations announcements. What I do is to segment the essential information so I can share it and reinforce it and them move the students into the material. Then I come back and cover additional course information with additional examples until I have covered all the essential information that they need to have. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Defining Instructional Professionalism

Hi Lewis, You make a number of good points concerning how you should approach the classroom. Setting the environment up to be supportive for all students is something that takes planning and organization. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Jerry, You are going to do fine as a result of your refreshing your mind as to what the beginners are like. It takes some thinking and insight on where they are coming from and how you can build on their previous experiences or lack thereof. You are going to do a great job of laying a foundation with these students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Tracey, Three very good points for professional development. You are enhancing your expertise with each of these strategies. This is what being a professional educator is all about. Thanks for sharing them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Hi Cathleen, I can only imagine the different kinds of drawings you get from your students. Sounds like a great way to engage students while having some fun as well. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Hi Robin, Passion for your field is so important to students. They will "catch" the excitement if they see and sense it in you. I am amazed at instructors that don't get excited about sharing the content of their field. This is one of the fun parts of teaching as far as I am concerned. Get to work in the field, share your knowledge and get paid as well. This is as good as it gets. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Lola, This is a good way to prepare but also it helps to get you excited about the material since you will have just gone through it. This is a win win for both you and the students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Hi Jennifer, Great strategy for remembering names. Not to mention you are developing rapport with your students as a result of listening to something they share with you about their lives and then connecting that with their names. This really helps to build respect between an instructor and students. Gary

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