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

Becoming aware of retention strategies...

Hi Murali, You are right about how it is easy to overwhelm students. Instructors need to read their students so they know how and when to introduce the course overview and syllabus. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Gail, Good points all about how to inform your students of your requirements, expectations and policies. The signature sheet is a good idea so everyone, you and your students has a clear understanding what is going to occur in the coming weeks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Carrie, The key is to introduce content at focused times in relation to the hands on labs the students are doing. This way you are building both the knowledge and skill base for your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Debi, You have done an excellent job of setting up an online classroom that provides support for your students. I hope they appreciate what you are doing for them in setting your office hours when you do you reflect their needs and concerns and they know you are there for them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Gail, Exactly in terms of what the outcomes need to be for your students. Real world experiences lead to real world competencies that enables your students to realize their career goals and be successful. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Sean, Good point about the model aspect. You are setting the bar for your students since they haven't had experience with people from that industry. You are it. This is why being both a model and a manager is critical as the students move through your course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Richard, An additional point about bringing live work into the classroom is that when my students are working on these projects they meet with community leaders and stakeholders. This really gets them involved in working through the steps of problem solution. In addition, this works counts as a part of their service learning. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Jerry, I am sure your students really enjoyed learning this information about HIPAA and could see the application of their knowledge to their career field. This is making it real. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Timothy, Good plan for informing your students of the requirements, expectations and polices of your course. The signature sheet helps you and them know that the syllabus has been covered. I like the idea of the second review of the syllabus just to make sure there aren't any misunderstandings. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Richard, Is it possible to bring live work into the class? I try and get a problem in the community that needs solved and then assign it to my students. I put them in groups and have each group take part of the problem and work toward solutions. Through the use of real life examples they can see possible solutions but they still have to come up with their own real life solutions since they are helping a community based organization with a problem. Gary

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