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

Matching Content to Need

Hi David, Application of newly acquired knowledge is essential for students so they can see relevancy to what they are studying. The use of current events really helps to make this happen. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Kirstin, Way to bring the students into the course setting by having them engage in the discussion. The exchange of information will really help with getting them comfortable with each other. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Kathleen, Great way to cover the total aspects of the course while giving the students contact support for when they have questions. The feedback you get will really help you with modifying the course to meet the needs of your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Timothy, This is critical for career training. Setting up the classroom and lab based upon business/industry standards. This shows the students that you are serious about their education plus it eases their transition to the real world since they will have worked on equipment and used supplies that directly reflective of their field. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Becoming aware of retention strategies...

Hi Jeffrey, Yes, it is important to "listen" to what your students are telling you through both words and actions. This way you can make any changes that need to be made to keep the class on task and progressing. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Melissa, Great outline of how you keep up communication with your students. This has to help with their understanding of what they must be completing at points along the course. My response to my question about the grade book information is that I remind my students through emails to be sure and look at their grade postings. These reminders seem to work on getting them to check for the feedback. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Laura, Right you are about the environment needing to be right for the students. If it isn't it is very difficult to recapture the attention of the students and get them settled into the class. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi David, Teaching evening classes are a challenge. As those are all that I teach I know I have to have a lot of activities and projects going to keep the students focused on the class content. I keep the pace fast and keep the students moving and I always run out of time before I run out of content. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Frank, Questioning is a powerful teaching technique. It gives students a chance to share what they know and expand on what they don't. What do you do to insure that all students are engaged in the class discussions? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Jeffery, You are going to be fine as a new instructor. It is ok to have a case of the nerves as well. They come with the job. The reason I know you are going to do well is that you shared a very important comment and that is you now realize that you have been a teacher all of your life. Take all those things that worked well when you were working with crews and incorporate them into your classroom. You are a subject matter expert working on becoming an instructional delivery expert. You know what you know… >>>

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