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

Defining Instructional Professionalism

Hi Anna, Well stated in terms of addressing the total instructional picture. By being professional in all of these areas you are going to set the tone for the class and give your students the soft skills they need to be successful in the work place. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Karen, Way to go in drawing out the students that are not as forthcoming as others. These efforts are not lost on the students as you mentioned since they step up and excel in their leadership positions when given a chance. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Ward, Sounds like a great plan to me. If the students can realize and appreciate how important math is in the culinary arts then they will appreciate how math can help them in all parts of their lives. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Angela, I use learning teams, competitions and special projects to keep my students interested and engaged. For example I will break the class up into small groups of 5-6 students and then assign them to draw on a flip chart an example of a concept we are studying. One concept last week was documentation. So I had them draw with figures and symbols the work documentation. They drew a stick figure of a doctor, a female sheep (ewe) and then a breath mint. Doc-ewe-mint. Another groups dealt with another topic, another a different topic until each group had an… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor Enthusiasm

Hi James, This is a good point. With a mix of humor and some examples the students stay engaged in the learning process. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Developing Student Rapport

Hi Steve, Right you are. It is a building thing. Rapport comes in steps and each step builds on the last experience you have with the students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Jacenta, This is a very good point about needing to offer variety in your instructional delivery. What are some strategies that you use to offer content in the different learning preference areas? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Virginia, This is a great method. What you are providing your students are guided notes. By taking the detail out of the PP slides you are asking the students to follow along on the major points while filling in their own notes on the printed slide sheets. This reduces their time of writing while keeping them focused on the key points. They should get a good set of notes after these sessions. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Ghazi, What do you consider the most important aspects of making a positive first impression? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Hi Nanci, You are right on with your analysis of how to get the information from the class to the minds of the students. If they can see application and relevance they will move the new content to their long-term memory for use over and over. This is what career preparation is all about. Gary

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