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

Your Instructional Style

Hi Arnold, Good professional development plan. Attending conferences like this really help you to stay current and see the big picture in your field. I know I always bring home some much new information after attending one of these meetings. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Edward, Good way to set the students at ease and get to know them better. By extending yourself to them in the time before class you are demonstrating that you really care about them as human beings as well as students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Mary, What a great professional development plan you have been following for yourself. I commend you for your effort and ability to make adjustments in your teaching style as needed. Keep up the great attitude and effort. Your students are receiving high quality instruction as a result of your dedication. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Pam, Good success story. Thanks for sharing it with us. I know many of us have been at the "sweating buckets" point in our teaching careers. I do think it is a good idea to change up our teaching style. I teach the same courses over and over and each time I teach one of them I introduce a new activity, segment, assignment. The reason is this forces me to try something new, moves me out of my comfort zone, helps keep me fresh and makes it fun for me as well as my students. By trying something new… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Increasing Student Retention

Hi Georgia, Great list and great advice for all instructors. Thanks for sharing it with us. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Hi Gail, You have done an excellent job of laying out the recipe for teaching success. By planning for and completing the steps you listed an instructor will not only have success with students but will have a high level of personal satisfaction of a job well done. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Yi, This is so important to do because then you will have all of the students on the same information level in terms of course requirements. This does much to keep the course moving forward as it needs to. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Joan, So true. You have to let the students know you value the opportunity to teach them content about your field. Then you have to share with them the plan for doing so. With the combination of instructional formatting you will have set the stage for student success if they will put forth the effort. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Judith, So true. You have to be the driver on sharing the course outline and flow of the class. If you don't as you well know the students quickly escalate to frustration and the learning curve drops dramatically. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Daniel, Good approach. With this method you are touching all of the learning preferences which gives the students opportunities to find their own comfort zones in relation to learning. This greatly increases the success factor for the students. Gary

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