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.

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Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Glenda, Thank you for sharing all of these very good examples of how you can expand your professional development to benefit your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi David, If the leader is excited then the followers will be also. That is why the instructor has to be excited about the course if the students are going to see a person that they want to follow in developing their career content. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Becoming aware of retention strategies...

Hi Adam, Exactly. By observing and talking with other instructors you can expand your knowledge base of effective instructional strategies. The bigger our network of professionals from learn from the wider are skill sets will be. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Ron, Great comments from a seasoned professional educator. Always good to hear that someone like yourself still has the vision of what needs to be accomplished in the classroom plus how to work with the students to get it done. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Stevie, Well said. By laying out the way the course is going to operate the students can see what the expectations, requirements and policies are. This way they can get right into the course without feeling confused or frustrated. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Nancy, Good point. Taking the "pulse" of the class is critical for instructors. This way they can make any adjustments that are needed to keep the class on target. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Shelly, You are right about needing to REFOCUS at times. We do get caught up in all the responsibilities of our work not to mention our personal lives to the point that sometimes we lose sight of the reason we are teachers in the first place. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivation techniques...

Hi Shelly, Making it "real" is critical for students to understand what they are going to encounter when they leave school. You are doing them a great service in how you are approaching your instruction and delivery. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Laurie, Pass/Fail courses are typically set for pass being a C grade. You can set your requirements for handing in assignments in a timely manner as being a part of the C effort. This means that they will not pass the course if they don't hand in the assignments on time. You can set deductions of points for each day the assignments are late until there will be no points awarded for the assignment at all. I usually deduct 20% of the points for each day late. This way in five days the points are all gone and I… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructors as Role Models

Hi Larry, From the beginning of the very first class you are setting a standard for the students. This is very important for their career growth. Your list of methods of professionalism are impressive and comprehensive so the students can see how their efforts will be rewarded in their careers as evidenced by your success. Gary

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