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.

Activity

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Sue, Part of how your students are responding can be due to the composition of the class. As you know class dynamics change quickly based upon how a group of students come together that course phase. Can you use case studies with them. With case studies you can have them work alone or in groups. Since you have a class that prefers to work alone then you can have them work on the case studies and then report out on their conclusions. This way they share with other students but don't have to work with them on the case… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Daniel, You make a good point. Students sometime need someone to help them connect the dots between school and the work world. You are doing that with your use of the "reason" for learning the material. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Hi Daniel, This is a great method of creating a baseline on your new students. The questions gets the students talking and interacting while you are gathering knowledge about their characteristics so you can plan from there. Good idea. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Hi Dr. Jones, Good points about how higher education is going to have to position itself in the coming years. The dynamics of the student body have changed extensively in the past few years and we in higher ed need to be flexible enough to respond to this. I agree with you about the emotional intelligence research need. One of my doc students just completed his dissertation on this topic. Very interesting the role emotion plays in personal and professional success. I have spent the last 25 years researching ways to assess the multiple intelligences of individuals to facilitate increased… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Preparing and Delivering Effective Lectures

Hi George, I am sure that at the end of a class session your students will have been given extensive content that has been illustrated and reinforced in a variety of ways. You have a clear instructional path and you are providing your students many opportunities to follow that path. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Comprehensive Planning for Instructional Success

Hi Kurt, Thank you for these points on instructional delivery. I can tell you have had extensive and varied experiences in teaching students of all kinds. By following the points you make a new instructor will be able to reflect a level of professionalism that will serve as a model to students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Karen, You are right about not being able to customize instruction for each and every student. What we can do is to offer a variety of instructional deliveries so that the students can use their different learning preferences to acquire the course content. Also, by offering variety in instruction it helps to keep us, instructors focused and creative. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Karen, Good point about characteristics. As instructors we need to gather all the information we can so we know how to support and respond to students throughout the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Brenda, These other forms of grade input is good since it provides students with alternatives for gaining points plus it lets them know where they are in the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Dean, This is a good point. By establishing yourself as a well organized and knowledgeable professional you are creating a solid base from which you can operate throughout the course. Gary

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