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

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Hi Laura, You are right about how important introductions are in getting a new class off to a good start. The methods you use all contribute to establishing a level of comfort for your students plus instill confidence that they have an instructor that is experienced and prepared to teach them. As you say this is what a learning community is all about. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Evan, You are fortunate that you have this kind of support from your college. This way you can personalize the content to fit your instructional style and you are good to go. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Jeris, This is a great idea to get and to keep students invested in the learning process. Ownership is critical for students. They need to see the value of what they are learning. By having the opportunity to select a project from among different options helps them to keep engaged and excited about the content. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Michelle, Your second sentence deals with an important point. Since the students are students they need to have the opportunity to test ideas and solutions out in a low risk environment. The classroom is that environment. They can do their projects under the supervision of a content expert and as a result the evaluation of that expert gives them confidence in the growth of their expertise. As we know once we graduate we are on our own so it is nice to know that for a while we have someone to help us when we are learning. I think… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Michael, Good way to start the course. Your method of letting the less verbal students to write down their questions is a way of letting everyone get their questions answered. This way the students leave the class knowing what the expectations of the course are. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Antonio, What are some strategies that you use to get your students to remember the critical information that you share with them at the beginning of the course? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivating Learners

Hi David, Thank you for your comments about what it takes to be an effective instructor. Your last sentence says it all. Interested instructors that make the class interesting have interested students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Hi Enoch, Having done learning and brain research for over 30 years I am still amazed at how little we know about learning and how complex the brain really is. It is a wonder that we are able to learn anything at all with all that is going on in our bodies. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructors as Role Models

Hi Nitin, Good advice! These 3 P's are what we all need to practice in order to be successful in our professional relationships. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Being Successful in College

Hi Albert, Right you are about the need to clearly lay out the course requirements, expectations and polices. Also, you make a good point about the need to repeat this information several times during the course. Students often dismiss information that they don't need at the moment so they need to have their memories refreshed at times about projects, due dates and assignments. Gary

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