Professional Development
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Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Making the Course Relevant
Hi Mark, Sounds like you a doing a good job with instructional balance. The key is to offer different ways of delivering instruction and you are certainly doing that based upon your comments in the forum. Keep up the good work. Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Understanding learner characteristics...
Hi Amir, As instructors we need to develop instruction that offers learning paths through all of the learning style avenues. This include as you mentioned visual, as well as printed material, hands on (tactile) and auditory learning preferences. As you prepare your lesson content and delivery you need to think about how you can present the information in such a ways as to appeal to all of the students within the four areas. Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Instructional Style
Hi Darrick You have the foundation of what it takes to be a good instructor. Break down the content into a sequence of steps, make them plain and simple, check for learning and keep giving feedback. This way the students know of their progress. You are on the right track, keep up the good work. Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Setting Expectations
Hi Mark, Great way to get the new phase off to a good start. By having the students sign a paper that they have received a syllabus helps to clarify any misunderstandings that might come up later about expectations. Also, sharing the expectations helps to create a vision for the students, in terms of skills and knowledge they will acquire in the coming weeks. Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Instructional Style
Hi Jacqueline, Through your comments you have created a very clear picture of a caring instructor that wants her students to succeed. This is what teaching is all about. Keep up the positive attitude I know you will continue to have success. Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Instructional Style

Hi Mark, As you mentioned instructional improvement is an ongoing process. By keeping your eyes and ears open to how your students are doing and where the bumpy roads are you will be able to keep learning moving forward. A suggestion for feedback is to use 3x5 cards after presenting a section, lesson or unit and let the students give you their perspectives. The input is anonymous so there is no threat. I have found that this method really helps me to improve on how I present a lesson. I like to use this with new material since I'm not… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Making the Course Relevant

Hi Patricia, Good for you for using many different modes of delivery of content. By using this method you are not only keeping the course interesting you are appealing to the different learning styles of your students. There are 7 major intelligences as identified by Howard Gardner and all of us process information within three of these intelligences comfortably. By delivering content in different ways the learning style of the student is hit and the intelligence that is used for processing is hit as well. This is a double support combination that really facilitates learning. Your point about looking for… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Learning Environment
Hi Patricia, By creating a positive supportive learning environment you are also creating a learning community for your students. Your students will not be distracted by the environment so they can focus on the course and the content within it. For students that have been out of the classroom for a number of years this can be very important. They need to be able to settle in and feel that they are a part of the learning community without any distractions. Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Learning Environment

Hi William, You hit upon the new classroom sore point, the cell phone. Instructors are working on all types of policies about their use in their classrooms. There are almost as many policies as there are instructors. The key point is cell phones must not be allowed to interfere with the instructional process. In terms of classrooms, instructors can set a positive attitude towards the class and its' setting. This will help much with student belief that positive learning experiences will occur in the course. Also, notice should be taken of little things that can clutter the classroom or present… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Discussion Comment
Making the Course Relevant

Hi Karman, Great write up on the list of interesting and engaging activities that you incorporate into your classes. You have taken a course that may be thought of as being “boring” and helped to make it inviting. Your use of situations and speakers really helps to make the subject matter come alive. Your use of groups to discuss ethical decisions is a very good idea. You get them collectively involved in the “real” world that they will find themselves in, in the very near future. They really need preparation for this and problem solving can be of great help… >>>

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