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

Motivation Through Relevancy and Application

Timothy, You make a very good point about trust of the instructor. We have to earn the respect and trust of our students if we are going to get them to accept the content we are offering. If they see we value the content then they will see value to it as well. If we give them opportunities to apply the content then they really get excited about what they are learning and their knowledge builds from there. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivation Through Relevancy and Application

Guy, I like your case study example. This is how students mature in terms of seeing application and relevancy to what is being taught. They have to personalize the content to their own lives and you are doing that with your examples. Good job. Thanks for sharing it with us. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Annette, This speaks of your instructional style. You were able to encourage, support and help a shy student to contribute to the class. I know this young woman will remember this positive experience for years to come and I know it will help her to strive to achieve the goals she has set for herself. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor Enthusiasm

Issy, I always like hearing and/or reading your last sentence. That says it all. You love your job and it shows. That sets the stage for success with your students due to your excitement and enthusiasm. Keep serving as a model and continuing to impact lives! Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor Enthusiasm

Timothy, Glad to hear of your continued excitement about your field. You are right about it being easy to fall into a routine that takes away the enthusiasm that once was there. We need to revisit our approach on a regular basis so we stay fresh and passionate about our field. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Increasing Student Retention

Dennis, Good point. Connecting the dots for students between the content and their career goals really helps them to see relevancy and application to what they are being taught. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Re: Effective Retention Strategies

Clevatrice, All three good strategies for us to remember as we approach the classroom. We need to be aware of how we are being perceived by the students and work hard to show them that we care about them as human beings in addition to being students. This connection really helps to keep them engaged in the learning process. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Richard, I teach a foundational course as well so I can really appreciate your comments about engaging the students in content they see as being relevant. You have a number of strategies that you are using that really work well in getting them to see the application of good communication to their future success. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Martha, By learning all you can about your students you are showing them the value you place on them and their success. This is an important ingredient in rapport development that shouldn't be overlooked. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Marilyn, Good points about preparation. Teaching is stressful enough with all that we do with both content and students, why increase it with stress by being unprepared. By being prepared we can go into the classroom and really enjoying sharing both content and skill with our students. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

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