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

Preparing and Delivering Effective Lectures

Hi Joanna, I agree about the interactive lectures. They keep the students engaged as well as helping you to measure what they are taking in from the lecture. They are the core of my lecture delivery format. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Joello, Right you are. Positive first impressions are so important in setting the stage for a successful class to come. A negative first impression means the instructor has to spend the first few weeks working to dig out out of a hole to earn the respect of the students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Offering Varied Instructional Delivery

Hi Joanna, This is a great way to break up the class sessions. The mini-breaks are more effective than the longer breaks because humans can concentrate only so long. (Between 15-20 minutes). So the mini-breaks lets them reset their brains, get the blood flowing and then they are ready to move on. Good job with these longer classes. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Joanna, You are doing a good job of working within the confines of how your college provides instruction. Your use of handouts to support the content, PPs and lecture is a good way to keep the content in front of the students for that specific class period. A handout I use a lot with my students when teaching in this format is to develop guided notes. The guided notes go along with the lecture and PP slides. They have the key points and underneath the key points are sections that the students have to fill out to complete the… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Joanna, Good way to "connect the dots" for students that are not going to major in the course area you are teaching. The example you give about accounting is a good one because everyone needs the basics of accounting if they are going to maintain their household checking account, credit card balances, etc.. So not only will they have idea of how accounting is used in their field they will know how to apply those accounting principles to their own lives. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Joanna, Good way to help them to plan for more than just the next week. By showing them how they can anticipate upcoming challenges like labor or other health problems you are showing them how they can remain in school and have success. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Hi Joanna, Thank you for sharing your own story about your successes and challenges as a student. Also, that you get to see the students from beginning to end in terms of their educational journey. I know these components help with the motivation of students that feel that you don't understand them. You can and do because you have been where they are and have conquered even greater challenges than they face. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Marvin, These are good points for instructors to remember as they plan their instructional delivery. We need to make sure we know and understand the dynamics of our students so we know how to support their learning needs. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Diana, This is a good point that instructors need to remember. The more relevancy and application they can show the greater the content retention is going to be. Thanks for sharing this with us. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Diana, You are so right about the need for adult learners to feel that they can be successful. They need help with increasing their self confidence in relation to being successful students. Instructors play an essential role in helping them to see how they can accomplish their goals and pass the course. Gary

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