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

Defining Instructional Professionalism

Hi Aila, The key is to establish yourself as the instructor leader in the class and a model of your profession. So you should dress, speak and conduct yourself as professionals in your field do. You may be the first person that your students have encountered in the field so you are setting the bar for the students. Also, you need to work on earning the respect of your students while establishing rapport with them. Both respect and rapport will help create a connection between you and them that will help them stay engaged in the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Hi Manuela, You will find your style with a little experience. Once you have some experience under your belt and you have had exposure to different student dynamics you will find what works for both you and your students. I wish you much success in your new teaching career. It is a profession because of the impact you have on the lives of people desiring to learn, enter and succeed in their career area. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Hi James, What a great content background you have. As a result you can concentrate on your instructional delivery as you select your content. I would suggest you do some online/reading research in the areas of multiple intelligences (ED 108 is a course that has several modules on MI) learning preferences, and cognitive processing. This information will help you to see how knowledge is acquired through different learning formats so you will be able to build your instructional delivery from there. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Karen, Good point about setting the stage for the course. By being prepared and ready to teach the students know they are going to be taught by someone that knows what she/he is doing in terms of both content and instructional delivery. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Latoya, You are in a challenging situation as a result of your teaching load and the lack of support in terms of having a developed syllabus available. For your survival I would make sure to be organized, and know exactly in what sequence you want to cover the content for each course. This will show your students and the administration that you know what you are doing as an educator. Work on establishing rapport with your students. This will carry you far in gaining the respect of your students. This in turn will help you with the feedback from… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Motivation Techniques

Hi Charlin, You make a good point about enthusiasm needed by the instructor. How do you generate enthusiasm with your students? Thanks in advance for your input. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Being Successful in College

Hi Galen, Good strategies for both students and instructors. Each has a role to play in the learning process so the more each knows about each other the easier is will be to establish common ground and create a learning pathway. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Role Models

Hi Lyndi, This is what being a professional educator is about. You are modeling expectations which is an important part of each student's preparation. They need to know and see what a professional in the field dresses, acts and performs like. This sets the stage for their success. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Instruction Relevant

Hi Patti, Good point about helping the students be successful but letting them know in the end it is their responsibility to be successful. They have to put forth the effort if they are going to achieve their career goals. No one can do it for them. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Latoya, Your instructional style will be a combination of a number of factors. Your personality, students you have, content you are teaching and the type of college you teach in. By looking at each of these elements you will see how you need to bring a particular type of teaching personality to the classroom to be most effective. Gary

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