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.

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Student Feedback

Hi Terry, You make a good point. It is easy to settle into a rut and not be fresh with your content or presentation. By following your recommendation you will be able to keep excitement into your classes. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Stanley, Look for places where additional input such as media would reinforce your point. What you are looking for is support to your content. If you feel a picture, video or PowerPoint would help your students grasp the concept you are presenting then you should put it into your presentation. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Yowanda, Good ideas for expanding your instructional expertise. I appreciate your comments about the frustrations of providing resources to students when the college doesn't support you. This calls for being creative in how you can provide the needed resources with limited or no support. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Lisa, What are some methods you use with your students to set up the learning stage? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Tim, This is a must if you are going to stay current in your field. I commend you for this effort so you can make your content more relevant to your students. This also is a great way to create a network for your students as they seek employment. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Tanya, What are some strategies that you use to help make the content relevant and applicable to and for your students? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Tim, Clear expectations really help the students to get settled into a course plus it reduces their anxiety about what it takes to be successful in the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Human Factor in Retention

Hi Ramon, Thank you for these good comments about the importance of developing rapport with students. Rapport helps to keep the students motivated and engaged in the learning process. When students have a relationship with the instructor and knows he/she cares they increase their effort to be successful. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Increasing Student Retention

Hi William, This statement drive me crazy. I hear this too frequently myself. I don't want to be around people like this because they are not professionals and life is too short to spend it with people who don't care about what they do. I just hope they these individuals will leave the field quickly. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi William, Thank your for sharing these two resources. As you say this is a real challenge for online instructors. As more resources become available in this area we need to share them because we are all working through these strategies together. Gary

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