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

Instructor REFOCUS

Hi William, Great to hear. I know you are going to continue with your expansion of knowledge and expertise as an educator based upon your forum comments. Your students are going to benefit from these efforts. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Ellen, Good suggestions about how to inform students of the time and effort commitment that is going to have to come from them if they are going to be successful in the course. Many times they don't have any idea of is ahead of them in a course and with a good introduction, clear syllabus and support from the instructor they will leave knowing what they are going to have to do. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Hi Ellen, Good way to use the instructional time in a class that is just beginning as a learning time for you. By listening and observing your students' responses you can determine what kind of supports they are going to need to get the class started. The example you shared is a good way to illustrate what you are talking about. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Hi Gladine, Good comments about how to introduce yourself to the class. One of your points is very important for we instructors to understand and that is students talk. The put the word out in terms of what kind of teacher you are. So students coming into your class may have a preconceived idea about your instructional style. It is up to you to reinforce that reputation or change it depending on how you feel you are perceived. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Holt, Great way to stay on top of what your students need to be successful in the course. Through this feedback you are able to make changes as needed as well as retain the content and activities that are working well. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi John, It is good that your campus provides this teaching model for you. This shows you that they are interested in your growth and development as an instructor. This way you expand your expertise and they get quality instruction. Win-win. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Gregory, Good comment. This is where one of my favorite quotes comes in "the beginning of understanding is willingness to start listening". That is what two way learning is all about. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Bonnie, Thank you for sharing your teaching experiences with us. Students do like stories because it helps to make the course content real for them. I really like their evaluation that says the course is too short. Way to go! This is truly a high compliment of your abilities as an instructor. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Maria, Good ideas for professional development. The more exposure we have to instructional growth the greater our knowledge will be on how to be more effective and efficient in our teaching. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Howard, You make a great point about what to expect from students. By putting in the form of expectation you are sending a very clear message to the students about what their performance needs to be in order to meet those expectations. These are not suggestions of performance but expectations and the students need to know and accept it. If they do then they will have success in the course. Gary

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