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

Your Instructional Style

Hi Ebony, Love your attitude. This excitement has to rub off on your students. You are the leader of the band and they are going to follow you down the street to the career parade. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Joy, Student feedback is critical if we are going to improve our instructional delivery. By listening we can continue to get better each time we offer the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi John, Thanks for sharing this story. It made me smile because this is what keeps us instructors coming back course after course. A student like this that really getting it. She is going to have a great career. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi John, An excellent source of professional development articles is the Techniques Journal put out by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). Every month that have ideas, strategies, and resources that can help career instructors. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Wendy, You make a key point about feedback. Feedback that is immediate and comprehensive is essential to keep students progressing. This is how they grow and gain confidence in their skills. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Pat, You are right about not being able to assume that when a message is sent it is received. Students need constant reminders of deadlines and assignment requirements. It is part of what we do, meaning keeping the reminders flowing so they complete their work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Wendy, You are correct about the need for a productive learning environment. As instructors we need to look around and decide if we were students would this be a place we would want to come to learn. After we have answered this question we can make any adjustments that need to be made to create the environment that we want. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Lolita, By personalizing your classroom you are creating an identity for your students when they enter it. The identity is that you and your class. I like this approach because I want my students to feel a connection between the physical aspects of the class and cognitive aspects of the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Nancy, Well said about being a "hands on" instructor. You are really modeling what the profession should be. Your nurses will respect you and use you as an example of how they themselves can be of value to their profession and their patients. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Lynne, You mention several key elements of teaching success when it comes to longer classes. One of those being variety. By changing pace, activities and groupings you can keep the students engaged. I teach 3 hour block classes so I am in the same situation you are and I use many different strategies to keep my students focused and engaged. Gary

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