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 Kay, You are correct about providing customized instruction for each student even though there are 30 students in the class. By planning and organizing your instruction around their needs you are doing just that. You are having an impact on their lives and by targeting the different learning preferences you are helping them to be successful as their prepare to enter their career field in these stressful and challenging times. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Drew, This is a great strategy for reaching your students. You are creating a knowledge base for yourself from which you can pull ideas for meeting the individual needs of your students. You are customizing instruction even though you have an entire class to do it for. Plus, this makes teaching more fun because you are constantly trying to be creative in your instructional planning. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Abraham, Well said. This is what keeps us coming back to the classroom, the opportunity to impact lives and make a difference for people and their careers. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Darron, How do you get to know the characteristics of your students? What methods have helped you to work through the beginning of the course so you can gain this information? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivation techniques...

Hi George, Great example of how an instructor can use his/her personal story to motivate and challenge students to achieve. They can see themselves in your story. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Holly, I am a big fan of case studies as well. They do all the things you listed and really help to refine the problem solving skills of my students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Wendy, Great example of why I like teaching. Students enroll in college to receive and education in their career field. They are surprised when they find out they have to study and work at developing their skills. This is the "Duh" factor at work. What did they expect? In many cases it sure wasn't work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Kirsi, You are right about the students feeling involved when their voices are heard. Feedback lets you stay on top of the course and make any changes that need to be made to keep the course on target and focused. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Brian, You have outlined a very good professional development plan. I teach nigh classes as well so field trips are not an option for me either, but I do use guest speakers a lot. Guest speakers make what I have covered in the class "real" since they come from the field. The students start to realize that what I am teaching them is included because it is essential information as backed up by the guest speakers. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Jayne, This is so important. Students get tired during the course and forget they are making progress. By showing them how far they have come and the skills they have developed they get motivated to keep working hard in the course. Gary

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