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

Hi Wendy, I can appreciate your challenge in terms of instructional delivery because of the volume of content you need to cover in a short period of time. One suggestion I would make is to look through the content and see if you think any of it can be acquired in an alternative form, such as small group, role playing, or game format. If so I would try that. It will give the students a break from the PPs and they will appreciate the different delivery format as well. Don't know if it will work with your content area but… >>>

Hi Steven, Good point about keeping current with technology. It is a real challenge for me. It seems that it changes at such a pace that I seem to always being behind the times no matter how hard I try. Gary
Discussion Comment
Hi Kevin, Thank you for this great forum comment. The comparison is a good one. It will be interesting if the campaign for Dominoes is effective. Even if it isn't in one sense it has and will be successful in the recognition that has been generated by them being willing to listen to feedback. This has been great publicity for them. Gary
Hi Kevin, Plus, it is makes teaching so exciting when you have rapport with your students and they are really targeted on learning the content and skills required. Gary
Hi Kevin, So true. This is what makes teaching worth it. We get to work with students and help them achieve their career goals. By them knowing we are there to support them they can focus on the course and completing all of the requirements. Gary

Professional development needs to be a constant in the life of an instructor.  Each time you teach a course you can jot down some notes on how the course went and what you could to do expand the content, change the delivery, or increase student engagement.  Then when you are preparing to teach the course again you can review the notes, fire up your creativity and prepare to make the course even better. 

In the meantime you need to have a plan set up for yourself to expand your knowledge and expertise as an educator.  In this plan you can… >>>

Hi Jorge, Yes, it is. You can customize your instruction when you have this kind of knowledge about your students. Gary
Hi Kevin, So true. Having this understanding and knowledge about your students really helps as you plan your instructional delivery. This way you can target their learning preferences more accurately. Gary
Hi Jorge, Good point about making the connection between the lab in school and the real world. The more the students understand this connection the easier their transition to it is going to be. Gary
Hi Alma, Good strategies. Keep up the good work. Gary

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