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

Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Edmund, Great comments in relation to understanding learning characteristics. This is so important to and for student success. The key is being flexible and you certainly are being that as you approach each class and read the personality of that class. Well done, thanks for sharing. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Michael, I use this approach as well and I agree that it really helps the students to get settled in and ready for the class. It seems to help pull the class together into a common learning community. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Joseph, A couple of things. Use a beginning of class activity that is fun for the students and will get them to talking and laughing with each other. This will help to get them settled into the course while you get comfortable with them. Another is to lecture or do a demonstration over something you know and understand extremely well. By showing the students something you know and are comfortable with will help you to refine your delivery while getting over the jitters. You will be surprised at how quickly you will get comfortable with the students once you… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Aaron, Thanks for sharing these two strategies. They are great ways to get the students involved and invested in the course. I know they will be of help to other instructors. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi James, Way to go in setting the standard for the class. The students get to see what has been done and realize that through hard work they can be at that level when they complete the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Comprehensive Planning for Instructional Success

Hi Dr. Anderson, Good point about the planning of a road trip. The students need to see the destination but enjoy the learning trip that goes along with it. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Becoming aware of retention strategies...

Hi Sabrina, You are showing your students that you care about their success and that you are there for them. That is what teaching is all about. By doing so you will be able to encourage them to keep on working hard as they develop the skills needed to be able to the professionals in design that they want to be. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Hi Dr. Jones, You make a number of very good points about the different learning pathways that students use to acquire new knowledge. In some previous research that I did with the University of London we found that there were 27 different combinations of learning styles that could be identified. Point is there is so much we don't know about how people learn that it is still a lot of fun to research how they do learn. I to am a big fan of the emotional intelligence aspect of learning. Integration of the different aspects of a person's social, emotional… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi William, Good suggestion. We will work on trying to set something like this set up. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Role Models

Hi Verna, Good points. Professionalism must be a part of both our talk and walk. This is what helps to move our students to the next level in their career development. Gary

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