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

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi John, This method also shows the students that previous students have been successful and so can they. Sometimes they forget that we have had many students previously and they have been able to do the work successfully. These examples take away that argument plus showing them examples of the standards you want them to achieve. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi John, Relevance plays a major part of the instructional style in that it reflects your understanding of how the subject can be used in the lives of the students. Your instructional style should show the students how they can internalize the content and make it a part of their skill set that enables them to be successful in their career field. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Thomas, Great comments about teaching adults. We truly are all kids inside. Some of us let the kid out and others don't. It is always fun to see one of the kid inside come out in adults that don't want to have fun while learning. When they do they become a big fan of learning. This is what makes teaching so much fun. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Dianne, This is a great way of making it real for your students. It is not you just saying it but practicing Chefs in the field that are saying it and they are the ones that will be doing the hiring. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Mary Jo, With real estate it is location, location, location. With demonstrations it is practice, practice, practice. Great to hear the information has been helpful to you. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Ty, You have a good plan for keeping your students informed about what is going to occur each class meeting. This way they can plan their work loads to make sure the complete all of the assignments in a timely and efficient manner. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Mary, Good to hear about the course changes that you made. These kind of efforts are what keep teaching interesting. A dramatic shift like this is like teaching a completely new course and each day, as I know you know already, is an adventure. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Dave, This is a good way of making it real for your students. They know by you getting and using the new software that you are keeping current in your field and that is important to your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Christopher, Let's start with the coffee. This is a personal choice to have it or not. I happen to be a coffee person so I have it in my class. In addition, I bring in popcorn when we are watching a DVD since we are having "movie night". Little things like that really help to integrate the students into the class. Other instructors would not think of having food or drink in the classrooms and that is ok as well. These kinds of things fit into my instructional style and if they do yours go for it. They won't… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Patrick, Many students have a hard time making the leap from theory (the classroom/lab) to real life. Your advice and application format helps them to do just that. The more relevancy and application that you can give them the better prepared they will be to be those good chefs. Gary

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