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.

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Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Denise, Sounds like you have a good instructional delivery plan for yourself. Since you are new to teaching what has been some of your greatest successes to date as an instructor? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructors as Role Models

Hi Robinette, Way to go in being accessible to and for your students. I am sure this greatly enhances your development of rapport with them. As for your questions about Facebook and other such social networks I am still working through that myself. To date I have not have had any issues with co-workers and employees as "friends" though I do not use this network to any extent due to time constraints. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Dan, You make a great point about the need for keep the energy level high. If the instructor doesn't nobody is. Enthusiasm really helps to keep the students engaged throughout the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Hi Robin, This is great to hear. Having a talent like you do really helps as you well know to relate to students and create rapport with them. Plus, it never hurts to laugh. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Being Successful in College

Hi Dennis, Thank you for sharing this list with us. It is going to be very beneficial to other instructors. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Hi Elizabeth, This is so true. Also, what would be the fun of teaching if we don't enjoy our students and the rapport we have with them? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Hi Marvin, I agree with your comments about the use of the syllabus. It is an effective communication device for giving students direction and setting the tone for the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Creating Personal Support Systems

Hi Cynthia, There are some many factors that come into play when you start discussing student support. As a guide line you want to make sure you are not enabling your students but supporting them. Hold them accountable for deadlines and completed work. You can help them with additional resources and feedback which will keep them moving forward in the course. Any other questions on this please let me know. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Hi Lisa, This is a great strategy to use because the students can see the projects in steps and not become overwhelmed. This approach reminds me of the age old question--"How do you eat an elephant?" Answer: "One bite at a time.". Of this begs the question why would you want to eat an elephant in the first place but it does make the point about using small steps to get to completion. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Betty, The sharing of accurate comprehensive information about the course polices, requirements and assignments is critical just as you mention. This helps the students to get settled into the course and understand expectations. Gary

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