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

REFOCUS...

Hi Doreen, Well said about the different aspects of professional development. We need to be looking for ways to offer variety to our students while keeping ourselves fresh with our content. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Becoming aware of retention strategies...

Hi Bill, You have life experiences that will help you as you develop skills in the area of instructional delivery. If the students know you care about them and their success you will be able to develop rapport with them which is a key ingredient for teaching success. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Patrick, Right you are about we instructors needing to look inside ourselves at times. What are some methods you use to look at what you are doing as an educator and how you can improve on your abilities. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Matching Content to Need

Hi Mark, I like your approach to getting the class ready for the day's activities by reviewing what happened in the previous class. Also, you are developing respect and relevancy in your students by helping them solve problems for their families. It helps to make their education real. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Michael, I like this seating arrangement as well. I use it in my classes so that every student is sitting on the front row, since there is only one row and they are visible to each other. Really encourages discussion and interaction. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Steven, Good idea using the "By the end of the day......" sheet to clearly illustrate what is going to happen that day and at the end of the day measuring what has happened. This way there is no mystery to what the expectations are for the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Keith, You are right about the need to accommodate persons with disabilities in educational institutions and work places. The law that mandates this is the ADA Act. The key words are "reasonable accommodations". That is in the educational setting their accommodations cannot disrupt the learning of other students. With most students with disabilities this is not a problem at all. As you mentioned they are generally very good students that are motivated to succeed. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Bridget, Well said. A great reminder for all of us educators, that we have to bring our A game to the class/lab everyday no matter how we feel. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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REFOCUS...

Hi Abundio, Well said. We have to look within ourselves to see where we are at with our own motivation and excitement for what we are doing. If we don't we can become stale very quickly and it will effect our teaching. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

REFOCUS...

Hi Ray, Good point about REFOCUS. All instructors need to do this so we keep our delivery fresh and our content current. By doing so we will keep our excitement up for what we are teaching and the students we have. Gary

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