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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REFOCUS...

Hi Kathleen, Thank you for sharing this good information on how to deal with online students. See the big picture is important for instructors and your advice helps them to do just that. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Tim, The key is to "read" the students and their needs just as you indicated. By doing so you can keep them engaged and focused on the content and application aspects of the course while meeting their needs for breaks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Matching Content to Need

Hi Wenting, Good way to combine your instructional delivery with the learning preferences of your students. This way you are targeting the students as well as showing them the use of color, texture, etc. in their field. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Nancy, I should clarify when I said I was working with the student. She wanted to do extra work so she could pass and I explained that extra work was not the issue but it was as you say "quality of work" and with her absences there was not enough quality. So I am recommending she take the course over again to gain the knowledge and skills. I cannot pass her with extra work since that would be the out many of the students would chose. A great way to pass a class come a couple of times due… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivation techniques...

Hi Christine, I would take my lesson outlines and go talk with instructors in the various career fields. I would look at their course outlines and see where crossovers might be where you can show application of literature in career settings. Look for career examples in the literature you have your students read. Anything to bring the gap with concrete examples of application. Fine literature has been compared to fine food for example. The question is why is the comparison made? Examples of these types may help. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivation techniques...

Hi Kerry, Well said. A good list to follow if we are going to be successful in the classroom. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivation techniques...

Hi Eugene, Using guest speakers is very valuable in getting messages across. It is much like when parents tell their kids something the kids dismiss much of it because parents are suppose to tell you things that are "good for you". Instructors are much like parents in this case. We tell our students something and then a guest speaker comes in and says the same they and they go "wow" because they have heard it from two places and it is more than just the instructor saying it for the sake of saying it. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Lacey, You make a number of very good points about how to keep the course and yourself excited about what you are doing. This to me is the fun part of teaching, new students and new approaches let you be creative. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Vincent, Good point about needing to remain fresh when presenting. A way to do this is to develop a different way of presenting a topic in the course. The new approach will let you use your creativity and will expand your instructional skill development. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Keegan, What are some ways you go about keeping yourself REFOCUSED and excited about your classes? Gary

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