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

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Erik, Right you are about the necessity of setting up a learning environment that is supportive and comfortable for students. What have you found to be the most appreciated environmental support that you give your students? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Kerry, Congratulations on doing a great job of engaging students in the online learning process. I am always amazed that students find the material we present them is meaningful. I wonder sometimes what they think we are doing when we present our content. Like we come up with this material from out of no where when in fact we have a planned and organized sequence to instruction. Surprise the content can help them realize their career goals. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Kerry, Great to hear about all of the contacts you have with your online students. I am sure this makes them feel very connected. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi James, Way to bring the real world into the classroom. This is making the course content come alive as a result of the relevancy that you are showing them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi David, Wells said. Students need to realize that one of a teachers major responsibilities is to "push" them to learn new things and expand their knowledge base. Having a clear explanation of how that grading is going to be done is extremely important. The results will be worthwhile for both the students and the teacher. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi David, Right you are. In the 1960s B.F. Skinner developed a teaching machine that would do everything that a human teacher would do but only better. It was projected that within 10 years there would be no need for human teachers only machines. By my calendar it is April, 2009 and there are several million of us teachers still in classrooms ranging from pre-school to universities. Looks like we are still needed. The human factor is the most powerful aspect of teaching. We must never forget that each time we step into the classroom. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Kathleen, Thank you for sharing your perspective about online instruction. Even though this format has been around for a while it is still new enough that we need to work at refining our delivery methods to keep students engaged in the learning process. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Leslie, Good points about online teaching environments. You are right that all we can bring to the online setting is ourselves. We need to sell our personalities and our professional concern for student success and then follow up with our students on a regular basis so they know we are out there for them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Todd, You make a number of very good points with the biggest one in my opinion being the one about active learning. Research and common sense has shown that actively involved students helps them to develop the needed skills and retain content knowledge at a much higher level. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivation techniques...

Hi Joshula, You are right about needing to know the goals of your students. If you don't you are going to need to spread a wide net in order to capture the attention of your students. By knowing what they are about and the goals they have it is much easier to customize the instruction to those goals. Gary

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