Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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.

Activity

Hi Anna, Good way to let your students apply their newly acquired knowledge. This creates a real base of relevancy for your students. Gary
Hi Marty, Great way to be a good instructor. There is the old saying that a camel is a horse put together by a committee, and you are an instructor put together by a host of previous teachers, with a mix of you. This combination should help you to really relate to your students and keep them engaged in learning. Gary
Hi Desiree, You list several very good examples of how an instructor can develop professionally. The idea of shadowing an instructor is a very good one. Seldom is that included in the professional development place for teachers and it should be. Gary
Hi Meredith, Thanks for sharing your perspective on online teaching and the integration of activities as well. Even with the students being online you are offering them some tactile experiences that they can include as a part of their learning. Gary
Hi Melonie, This is a great way to make sure the students can navigate through the course and are comfortable with the when, what and where aspects of the course that they will be encountering. What has been the student feedback on this method of introduction? I would imagine they really like it. Gary
Hi Glenn, I like the way you put forth your expectations. The format lends itself well to having the students see that you are serious about what you expect from them in the coming course. Gary

Hi Joel, Sorry,nothing earth shattering. Your approach is much like mine. I show the standards and then give examples of how those standards can be met. I use a pretest that is fun and shows the students what we will be studying in the coming weeks. The fun part is that I use letters and jargon from out field and have the students write out what they mean. Example ADA. All kinds of answers come out of this from American Dental Association to Americans With Disabilities Act. The students are very creative in their answers to the quiz and it… >>>

Hi Erik, Way to connect the dots. I hear the complaint all the time that students don't need to be able to write well in their careers. A writing class is a waste of time, they should be in the lab learning something real. You are helping them to see that their career success depends on their communication abilities. Keep up the good work because it makes the job easier when the students are in their career areas and can express themselves or develop a work order, etc. Gary
Hi Peter, Since you have been teaching the same course for a period of time what methods to you use to keep the course fresh for you? What are some strategies you could share with the other participants on keeping your training current? Gary
Hi Laura, Thank you for the great examples of how you can personalize a standardized course. You are really bringing the students into the course. Gary

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