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

Increasing Student Retention

Hi John, I think this is a great model to use for both student retention and satisfaction. They have an instructor that they can turn to for information, advice and support. These are very important for student success so with mentors in place I am sure you are going to see great results. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Valuing Student Opinions

Hi Louise, Good way to bring balance to your classroom discussion. This way you are doing learning checks while moving the class forward. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Toni, Great philosophy! Being forward focused in your approach, planning and vision leads both instructor and student satisfaction. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

Hi Eural, What are some of the strategies you use to help your students identify and uncover their talents and develop their skills? I am always interested in learning how other instructors go about helping students in this way. Anything you can share will be appreciated. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Students as Class Members

Hi Bruce, Thank you for sharing your strategies for learning names and getting to know students. I know these will be helpful to other instructors. I can appreciate where you are coming from in relation to teaching online. It is much harder to "read" your students but it sounds like through your years of experience in working with people, both military and teaching you have developed such expertise that extends even to the online setting. I wish you much success in your teaching efforts. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivating Learners

Hi Patricia, I enjoy hearing stories like this. All these years later this instructor stands out in your mind because she cared about you and your success. This is the impact we instructors hope to have on the lives of our students and we can by developing rapport with them and providing support when needed. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Megan, Right you are. Clear, concise information about course expectations, polices and requirements are essential in getting the course off to a good start and helping the students to find their comfort level in the class. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Developing Student Rapport

Hi Bruce, I like your definition of rapport. It is so valuable in the instructional setting. Also, rapport helps to bring enjoyment to the class because of the relationship we get to develop with the students. I know we all have former students share with us their career successes as a result of the rapport we developed when they were in class. This is what teaching is all about. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Creating Personal Support Systems

Hi Bruce, The key is to get communication going between yourself and your students as well as among themselves. You are doing that with your chat groups and sounds like with very good results. This is one of the challenges of teaching online and all of us is looking for ways to increase student interaction. Thanks for sharing your strategy. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Students as Class Members

Hi Ben, I like both of your strategies. These are great ways to check for learning plus allow the students to "show off" their newly acquired knowledge and skills. Gary

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