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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Motivating Learners

Hi Dr. Miller, This is so important in teaching. Do all you can to help students to see how they can be successful if they will put forth the effort. Once they get it in their minds that they can be successful and achieve their life goals then motivation really kicks in. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Hi Gerald, What are some of the strategies you use to get your students to understand the goals and objectives of your course? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Increasing Student Retention

Hi Lachlan, These are bubble students. They are setting on the edge looking for a reason to quite school or blame someone for their failure. By providing some attention and support to them you can help them realize they can be successful and achieve their career goals. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Sonia, This is a good way to continue your professional development. It is good you have someone you trust and feel comfortable with that you can observe and have observe you. This way you both benefit from your efforts to expand your instructional style. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Donald, This is a good way to check for learning. As you know you can quickly tell if the students are getting it by the questions they ask. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Linda, Good strategy. This keeps you fresh and excited about the course even when you are starting to wear down. Half to 3/4 through the course students can start to give out in terms of their energy and/or excitement. They start to feel pressured and frustrated in relation completing the course and by you coming into the course ramped up and ready to go you can help them recapture some of the excitement needed to complete the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivating Learners

Hi Lisa, By sharing your own educational journey as well as how you managed your personal life while being a student can be a real motivator for students. This is bringing the "human factor" into the classroom. They get to see you both as an instructor as well as a personal whether it be in an in-site or online class. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Effective Retention Strategies

Hi Linda, Good point about how simple human interaction really is. It is important that we as instructor take the time to show our students we care about them and their success. By doing so their interest and engagement will increase as will their success. This way the course requirements can be covered as well because the students will be more focused on the course content as a result of the instructors excitement. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivation Through Relevancy and Application

Hi Pam, You are correct about the majority of adult learners. They are there for a purpose and want to move toward their career goal as fast as possible. In the meantime they are managing families, work, etc. I teach from 4 until 10 pm. My students have put in a day's work when they get to my class yet they are there and ready to learn because they have a vision. They can see the value of their educational efforts. I only wish some of my younger students could see their education in the same light. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Hi Jennifer, I agree with you about helping students to see the relevancy and application of what they are learning. Content can be shared through the mini-lectures but they need to be provided with activities that lets them apply what they are learning. This is how skill is developed and knowledge expanded. Gary

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