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

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Fred, This is a great strategy to follow. Students need to see relevancy and application in their learning and your methods are doing just that. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor REFOCUS

Jessica , Way to go in jazzing up your delivery. Having grandchildren in the Thomas the Train phase I can relate to your statement about the narrator role. We need to be excited about what we are sharing and help our students to see the value of our content in relation to their future careers. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Luequiten, Good point and one we need to always keep in mind as we work with students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Accommodating Learner Preferences

Patricia, Good strategy. You have them at a point where you are making the last set of connections between what they have been learning and their next step which is the real world. The more you can help them see the future the better prepared they will be to be successful. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Pascale, When I have students like this I have a individual talk with them and ask for their cooperation in the class. Then I set a time frame for them changing their behavior. If they don't I remove them from the class because I will not let one or two students ruin the learning of others. If the students change their behavior I compliment them so they are encouraged to continue their positive actions. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Karen, There is no set amount of time to see if students have any questions, just go on your professional judgement. One guide you can follow is to deliver a key concept or content area then pause to see if there are any questions. To avoid the sound of crickets (which by the way is an awful sound for instructors or least it is to me) ask a question and then put the students into learning groups of 2-3 and have them discuss among themselves possible answers. Then have someone from the group report out their collective answers. This gets… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Luequiten, What are some ways you have effective to keep students eager about coming to class? Thanks for your input on this. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Pascale, This is why have a clear and concise syllabus for your course is so important. Also, you are teaching the students that when they are out in the work world their work has to be completed on time, no exceptions. This is the kind of discipline that is missing for many new workers. So keep your standards in place as you are doing a great service for your students in helping them develop their own self discipline. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Sharif , Right you are in terms of the needed planning. This kind of planning gives you the insight and strategies that will be needed to reach the students with the required content and activities. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Jennifer, I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I understand what you are saying about your students. I enjoy teaching these classes because the students are there to advance their careers or prepare for new ones but they still have worked all day and are tired. So it takes effort to keep them engaged for this length of time. Sounds like you have a good plan for how you are going to keep your students focused on learning throughout the evening. Gary

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