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

Your Instructional Style

Hi Monte, Demonstrations are powerful learning tools because the involve other senses as well as application. This lets the students see where they are going with the content they are acquiring. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Hi Todd, This is a good strategy because it helps the adult learners to "connect the dots" between the course content and application. They start to value the content as a result of having examples of how it will be applied in their career area. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Student Rapport

Hi Martha, It is critical to keep the students engaged and forward focused in their learning. In addition, it really helps them to see how a professional conducts him/herself in their career area. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Hi Todd, Great to hear. I wish you the best in your teaching efforts. To me it is fun to watch the students light up when they get a new concept or idea that makes sense to them. Then you they have created the brain connection that is needed to enhance their learning. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Preparing and Delivering Effective Lectures

Hi Maggie, Good way to get the students involved. Another thing you are doing is changing the pace of the class so the students can stay engaged in the learning process while enjoying the variety. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

Hi Joseph, You make a number of good points about maintaining student focus. You are right about how all of the external factors can make their way into the classroom and cause students to lose their way. That is why it is so important to help them to see and then remind them that their is a reason they are there and what the outcome can be for their life is they are able to overcome the problems and keep their career vision. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Hi John, Thank you for sharing this example. This can be filed under "see you are learning more than you think your are". These are "ah-ha" moments that students have and this really builds their confidence both in taking tests but also in their career development. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Hi Jantez, What are some of the strategies you use to keep your students engaged in the learning process? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Hi Cheryl, Since you work in a problem solving area your students are going to need to have concrete steps they follow to problem solve and skill to think abstractly about solutions. This makes for an interesting approach to instructional delivery and skill set development since they work in both areas. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Hi John, Well said and exactly on point. The human factor in teaching is a powerful motivator. Gary

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