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

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Hi Karen, This is the value of good planning. By having clear expectations you can reduce student fears and increase their understanding of what is going to occur in the coming course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Joan, I like your idea about using the "free parting gifts" as a hook to get students to see value to what they are learning. Little things like your educational morsels help to build a foundation of success for your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Peter, I agree. Everyone likes to see someone that is excited about what they do. Students that see an instructor that cares about the field and is excited about teaching it helps to keep students engaged in the learning process. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Maureen, Good way to give students a holistic picture of where they need to be when the project is completed. This way, as you see they see the end dish in their minds and then work toward the successful completion of that dish. If they miss the mark they can see where next time they will not make the same mistake again and improvement occurs. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Michelle, Good example of using previous experiences to build a base from which current expertise can be developed. Your experience as a ballroom dance instructor has given you the ability to use encouragement in such a way that a person with little or no coordination could benefit from your instruction. This is the case in your current instructional setting. Thanks for sharing. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Lynn, One of the things current students want to establish during their education is a network. This network needs to be more than a social network so they can draw on the network when they are interested in career development. Sometimes they forget some of the best members of their career network are fellow students. They need to cultivate those relationships so they can be used throughout out their professional lives. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Reasons for Enrolling

Hi Jim, You start with an ice breaker activity at the beginning of the course and see what information the students share with you during the introduction time. If there are still questions you have or if you want further information then set up a time when you can talk with the student privately. Talking with individual students really helps to start the development of rapport with them. This is in addition to the regular contact you have with them in class. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Student Motivation Factors

Hi Carrie, What are some effective ways that you have found to provide positive reinforcement to your students? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Offering Varied Instructional Delivery

Hi Sarah, You are on the right track with your offering of a variety of instructional deliveries. Having researched the assessment of the seven intelligences identified by Gardner over the past 25 years I have developed an assessment that can be used to identify the three dominant intelligences of each person. With this information instructors are able to plan their lessons around groupings of these individuals. The results have been improved learning and retention. This is really based upon the Chinese proverb that you quote to your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Hi Matthew, I bet you get their attention and that they listen up the next time you ask for their attention. Gary

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