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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Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Ernesto, What are some strategies you use to create a positive first impression with your students? Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Hi Sharon, You can put them into learning or work groups and assign them case studies or projects. In working together they will get more comfortable with each and the group dynamic building their confidence which leads to more class involvement. Vary your instructional delivery and the pace of your class and this will keep the students engaged. Give your students 3x5 cards and have them write down a certain number of questions and hand them in to you. This way you will have a number of questions to respond to in order to keep the class discussion moving forward.… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Peg, You are very welcome. I wish you much teaching success. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Hi Earl, Good comments about why objectives need to be clear and specific for the benefit of both the students and the instructor. This way everyone has the "road map" to follow. The sequence of instruction is there for all to see and put forth effort to achieve. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Reasons for Enrolling

Hi Alice, You make a good point about the need to understand why a student is enrolled in the course. This helps you to shape your approach to working with the individual. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivating Learners

Hi Earl, The connection between the classroom and the real world is so important. I do like you and use guest speakers a lot in my courses to validate what I am teaching is accurate and current with the demands of the career field. This helps them to get motivated with their studies because they start to see their future in the field as a result of the speakers. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Jan, Good point and will illustrated. Too many students walk off the edge and fall into the canyon and don't really realize how they did it. We need to help them see how they can transition from school to work and be successful in the process. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Hi Vicki, Good effort on trying to help students see what they are learning will help them be successful in their careers. The more you can make their educational experiences like the real world the less traumatic the adjustment will be when they actually enter the work world. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Understanding Learner Characteristics

Hi Thomas, Good point about the need for instructional variety to help keep students engaged and moving forward with their learning. These types of efforts will help you to be an effective and efficient instructor. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

Hi Laura, Thank you for sharing this example of how a student can be helped in an online situation. Due to your connecting with and support of her efforts she is still a student in the course. It would have been easy for her to just fade away but you kept her engaged and the result is her success. Way to go! Gary

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