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.

Activity

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi Sandra, This is a very common problem when teaching adult learners online. This is because they need the additional input of support so they can feel comfortable with the progress they are making in the course. A strategy that may help this is to give them an assignment early on that will assure them of success. This assignment should be simple and short of duration so they can see that they will have success in the course and with you. As they ask more of your time you can sight the example of their success and assure them that… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Joann, When people refer to acting in the teaching context I believe they are referring to how a professional educator has to "act" as the class leader. That is it may be the tendency of a personality type to come into a setting and not talk much in a group. As the teacher this is not possible since as class leader you have to be prepared, organized and ready to offer the course content. So even though one's personality may be a bit on the shy side you have to develop a teaching style that will get you to… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Searcy, Welcome to the teaching profession. I wish you the best in this new career choice. I know you are going to enjoy having an influence on the next generation of workers in your career field. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding learner characteristics...

Hi David, Good job in transferring the different learning preferences of students from the lecture setting to the lab setting since this is where the bulk of time is spent. As you have seen you will start to see how individual respond to using different methods to explain things to them while they are in the lab. Good teaching is the same no matter where the location might be. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Joann, Good plan. I am sure you are very effective with your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Clarifying Your Expectations To Students

Hi Jerome, Well said. You have laid a very clear plan for approaching the students from the very first day. Plus, your effort at personalizing it makes it even better. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

REFOCUS...

Hi Richard, You make a good point about stepping back and looking with fresh eyes at your students. We, as instructors have to do this to remain fresh and excited about our work, Well said. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Becoming aware of retention strategies...

Hi Joseph, You did an excellent job of profiling many of the students today. This is why the secondary schools are trying to expose students to career exploration opportunities to give them a foundation of career knowledge from which they can make informed, meaningful and realistic career choices. I am sure this will help but the student still has to be mature enough to make that decision. Age of decision is based upon many factors so as you know it does not occur automatically at age 18. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Matching Content to Need

Hi Mary, By sharing these experience you are also building a base for relevancy on the part of your students. They can see that the content you are asking them to learn is based upon your real world experiences. Keep up the good work. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivation techniques...

Hi Michael, You are doing a good job at being an innovative educator. Since you can't reward with things like food you have found that you can still keep your students' motivation levels high by offering praise when deserved and spreading that praise around so all the students have the benefit of your experience and expertise. Gary

End of Content