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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Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Savitri, Two things. One they can come into a class already formed into a learning group and be ready to learn. They know each other well enough that they know who can do what when working together. The other side is when they come in and are a challenge to work with since they have history and inside jokes, and stories. This type of cohort group can be tough to break into . I give them a chance to work on a project together and see how they function. If they do not get the work done I break… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi John-Howard, Thank you for sharing this quote with us. It made me smile. This is what chews up much of my time. Meetings to plan future meetings. We have a Committee on Committee whose job it is to determine what committees we should have and if we need anymore. Education needs to focus on the continuous improvement aspect of our lives so we can continue to grow as effective and efficient instructors. It is what makes teaching fun and students successful. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Hi Angela, Learning is both simple and complex. The simple part of learning is absorbing the world around you and then the complex comes into play as the learner tries to decode and recode the information for use later on. I wish you much success with your teaching efforts. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Wendy, As we are all trying to learn more about how to effectively teach online courses I have a question for you. Since your students praise how you set up your live chats, what are the components that makes the students like them so well? Thanks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Hi Doug, Good to hear about the module content. I will look forward to hearing about your successes. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

H Ed, I am a big fan of grading rubrics as well. They give the students a much more accurate picture of how they earned their points and where they need to improve. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Ed, Thankfully I had an instructor much like yourself when I was taking my economic courses. He broke it down so I a non-business type person could understand what economics is and how it works. A lifesaver for me. I like this method because it is much like the questions "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer: "One bite at a time." This is how the students need to see what they are studying. Your aircraft mechanic training is serving you well. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Instruction Relevant

Hi Jill, This is so important. My college doesn't have one either so I have created a baseline assessment for each of my courses. This way I can, just like you get a feel for where each student is in terms of basic knowledge. This gives me a starting point for my planning of instructional delivery. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Wendy, This is a comprehensive professional improvement plan that you are developing. This key is being a life long learner and you have certainly set a system up that enables you to be such. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Hi Stacey, Your last sentence reinforces why the syllabus has to be well written and accurate. It is a contract between you and your students. It can save you from much frustration if you have done it right as evidenced by your example. Gary

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