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

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Debra, Your method gets the students looking at your syllabus and then the Q&A the next class gives them the opportunity to seek clarity if needed. This should get them off to a good start in terms of the course requirements and expectations. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Robin, Your last sentence captures the essence of how you can approach the students and keep their attention. Offer variety and use as many of the senses as you can and you will be engaging your students at a high level of interest. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Hi Marion, There are two things I use to help students to develop good study habits. They are structured outlines and guided notes. The structured outlines are simply an outline of what is going to be covered that class session. The outline shows the student the main points and under the main points the supporting points that they need to know about. The outline gives them the big picture of the course and in particular that class's session topics. The guided notes shows them what the important points are. Guided notes have blanks that the students fill in as the… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Motivators

Hi Julie, Good point. A positive attitude sets the tone for how the class is going to flow. By being excited and supportive both you and your students are going to look forward to the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Students as Class Members

Hi Gregory, These little things like introductions really help to get the students settled into the course. I do introductions and a fun ice breaker so by the time I am ready to introduce the syllabus and the course requirements they are starting to gel as a class and feel they know each other a little better. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Retention Strategies

Hi Andrea, Thank you for sharing this resource with us. This website has much information that is of value to instructors. I am sure that many of the participants will review this site for content that will help them with retention. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reinforcement as Motivation

Hi Dennis, This is a great game. Thanks for sharing it with us. This can be used in any setting to get all of the students thinking about how they will "brand" themselves as they get ready to enter the work place. The key is answering the question "who would want to hire you and why?". Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Dr. Viar, Right you are about first impressions. They really do set the stage for the course. If we can get the students engaged in ice breakers or activities the first class meeting in a way that shows them how they are going to fit into the course then we will have done our job the first day. We want them to want to come back the next class meeting because something important is going to happen rather than they just feel that it is an obligation for them to come to meet class requirements. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Susan, Well said! To have them look forward to coming back to class the next time says it all about how dynamic the first class meeting was. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Amit, Right you are. This is why that first class meeting is so important in setting the tone for the class. Gary

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