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 Warren, You make a number of very good points about setting up an environment that is conducive to learning. If we as instructors don't see the obvious such as the classroom or lab then we are going to miss other things related to good instruction as well. We have to survey our surroundings so we can see them as our students see them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi James, Right you are about relaxed and comfortable students learning better. We all work better in such a climate and when we can create that for out students we are helping them to have success. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Cheryl, Good question that commonly comes up with all of us instructors. I would suggest you do two things in relation to planning your instructional delivery. As you mentioned in your forum it would be good to find out the learning preferences of your students. Once you know this you can balance your delivery to involve the different learning preferences. Another thing I would do is to have the students fill out a 3x5 card offering suggestions and input on ways they would suggest the content be delivered. I have found that I get very good feedback from the… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Luis, Thanks for sharing these strategies. You are helping your students to make immediate use of newly acquired knowledge. They are learning how to ride the bicycle and then they go out and actually do it. I am sure using this method you get very good results in language acquisition. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Eduardo, The use of guest speakers and field trips are a very effective way of getting the message across to students in terms of how their efforts will be rewarded with career choices that come as a result of their study. Good job. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Janet, Great plan for using the class length in different segments and activities. That is important as you well know when trying to keep the students engaged in the learning process. The immediate use of newly acquired knowledge is an excellent way to keep student motivation high. Good job. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Jay, Good idea to have the "syllabus quiz". With an online setting you can include the students in the process by having them search through the syllabus to get the knowledge needed for the quiz plus they are learning the contents of the syllabus as well. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Jennifer, One of the facts about learning is that human beings like routine but their brains crave variety. It is a contradiction I know but it is true. By doing what you are doing with all of the different delivery modes you are giving your students variety in how they receive content but routine in the course structure. This is good use of learning theory and application. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Becoming aware of retention strategies...

Hi George, You make a good point about needing to be right on with your instruction from the very beginning. By working hard at understanding how learning occurs and the nature of your student body you will be able to prepare to meet their needs. You are a subject matter expert (SME) striving to be an Instruction Delivery Expert (IDE) and you can be that through on going professional development. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Bethany, The face to face contact from such a seating arrangement is very important when discussions are held. Gary

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