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

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Hi Dorothy, The first step is to break the content of your course down into instructional "chunks". Then you can develop supports like worksheets, guided notes, guest speakers and other delivery methods that help to illustrate and reinforce the content they are acquiring. Get feedback from your students on a regular basis about how well they see themselves doing in the course and with the assignments. This will help you to see where you need to make adaptations in delivery that will more accurately target your instruction to them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Hi Janet, Having students acquire knowledge in areas other than their desired learning preference is a good strategy because in most careers some amount of reading is required. So even if that isn't their learning preference have skills in that area will help them to be successful in their career enabling them to do what they have trained to do. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Gregory, This is a great example of application and transference. You are showing students how their career area can affect themselves and their family in an indirect way not generally thought about. This graphic example should set them up for wanting to learn more about other situations that can result from the career area they are preparing to enter. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Student Rapport

Hi Rebecca, Good point concerning rapport. This is why rapport needs to be developed with students with a central theme concerning professionalism. This way they will not see you the instructor in a buddy format but a professional educator concerned about their success in the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Shawn, You have a very comprehensive way of checking for student understanding of the course requirement, expectations and polices. I am sure that with this information your students get off to a really good start in the course and feel that they know what it takes to do well in their studies. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Hi Renee, These are the stories that inspire me. You overcame your fear of failure, found you could be successful and accomplished your goals. This is what being a student is all about no matter the age. You are a model for your students as a result of your life experiences. Keep up the great job you are doing. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Hi Gary, I really enjoy hearing stories like yours. Your success has been based upon a high level of motivation and a tremendous amount of hard work. I congratulate you for all the success you have enjoyed. I know you are an inspiration to your students. You can relate to those older students that have the same fears that you had and explain to them what they must do to be successful. This will reduce their anxiety greatly. Keep up the great work you are doing. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Hi Janet, I agree with you about the expansion of chemical use in classrooms and the workplace. We are seeing more incidents of students having used chemicals coming into the class and causing problems as a result of their altered behavior. We have a very clear method of dealing with these situations of which the students are informed. Our policy on this is clearly understood to the point that we have not had any situations arise for the past 18 months. For this we are thankful and feel we have a firm grasp on how to work with such situations. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Sharon, Good point about making it to school when you don't feel the instructor is invested in your future. It is easy to drop out under these circumstances. We instructors can't let ourselves get into the position of being perceived as not caring. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reinforcement as Motivation

Hi Kim, Good work on your part to get the students feedback on their work as soon as possible. This is so important in keeping them engaged in the learning process. This way they know where they are in the course and what they need to do to improve or continue the success path they are on. Gary

End of Content