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

Effective Retention Strategies

Hi Jessica, This sharing is important because the students start to see you more from the human perspective. Many times students forget that all of us instructors are former students ourselves. We worked, struggled and conquered our schooling to get where we are and we did it just like they are currently doing, so we really do understand where they are coming from. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Comprehensive Planning for Instructional Success

Hi Justine, This is so true. Over planning helps to take some of the worry out of teaching because as you already know it seems nothing ever goes as planned. We always have to have an alternative plan ready when a course takes off in a different direction. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Pamela, I am excited for you as you work to find a mentor. I know having such a person to bounce things off of and to learn from will greatly enhance your instructional expertise. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi Gayle, Thank you for the kind words about the development of a professional improvement plan. I wish you much success as you expand your abilities as an instructor while making an even greater impact on the lives of your students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Hi Augustine, This is so true. To have your work evaluated by a person that has extensive experience in the field is very important to students. The feedback needs to be accurate and prompt so the students can continue their forward progress in the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Retention Strategies

Hi Robert, This seems like a little thing but it is important to students. By knowing they can chat with you a little before or after class they know you are accessible and that is important to students. They know you will answer their questions and listen to their concerns so they can move on with the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Blog

Matching Your Instructional Delivery to Your Subject

Different subject areas require different instructional deliveries. To get you thinking about what delivery methods will work for your course reflect back on how you were taught. Was the methods used by your instructors effective for you? Were you able to grasp the concepts and develop the skills needed in a logical and progressive way? Were there things you wish the instructor would have done to help you learn more effectively? While thinking through the answers to these questions you might want to make a list of the methods that were used.

Talk with other faculty members about what methods… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Hi Randal, Right you are about helping the students see the relevancy and application to what you are covering in class. Real world experiences help the students to "connect the dots" between content and their future. If they want to have these real world experiences themselves they need to put forth the effort to gain all the knowledge they can from their instructors. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Student Feedback

Hi Jeffrey, Right you are about how to handle feedback from students. It has to be looked at from a holistic perspective and that way we can grow each time we receive feedback be it positive or negative. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Janet, Good comments about how you use current events in your classes. This strategy helps the students to see application and relevancy to what you are teaching. The more connection you can make between the classroom and the real world the easier the transition to employment is going to be for your students. Keep up the good work. Gary

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