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.

Activity

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Robert, This approach is so important. As you well know the students have to see the relevancy and application of what they are studying if their are going to continue to be engaged. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Retention Strategies

Hi Jim, Your last sentence really says it all. We need to work to help the students to see that they must make the class their own and then grow in that class throughout the duration of it. This is what learning is all about. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reasons for Enrolling

Hi Lisa, Thanks for sharing your life example of how to work toward getting the career you want to have. None of us got to where we are without putting forth a lot of effort. Question--Since you worked for Walgreens for ten years you may know the answer to this question. Why is there a CVS Pharmacy across the street from every Walgreens? Just wondering. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Hi Ryan, Good way to build sequential thinking in your students. They get to analyze what has been covered and then use their problem solving skills to respond and apply their new knowledge. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Blog

Where Should Instructors Position Themselves While Teaching?

Many instructors are uncertain just where to position themselves in the classroom. The reasons for this concern can be many. Some instructors are extremely nervous because they are just starting out as instructors so standing in front of a group of students is very difficult for them. Others have the universal fear of being in front of people no matter how long they have taught. So instructors want to roam around the classroom, stand in the back, sit behind a desk, hang onto a podium, or any combination of the above.

The short answer to the question about instructor positioning… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

A quick self-assessment

Hi Linda,

One of the great things about being an instructor is that no two days are alike. By having some resources available to fall back on like the methods covered ED 104 we can zero in on issues that are revolving around a student and try to keep them engaged and focused on the learning process. In addition, we need to continually share strategies that we have found that work with challenging students so we can keep our classes moving forward and our students excited about learning.

Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Student Motivation Factors

Hi Jody, I think trying to figure the students out and determine what is driving them is one of the fun parts of teaching. By determining to the best of our ability the motivation factors in the lives of the students we can then customize our instruction and be more accurate in our delivery. Good point. Thanks. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

Hi Thadeus, Right you are so we need to "read" our students so we can make the needed adjustments to help them be successful in the class. The number one thing is to keep the focused on the reason why they are enrolled in the class in the first place and that the class is not designed to be a social networking site. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Hi Jane, I evaluate my students' presentations based upon a rubric I create for each assignment. This way they know exactly where the points are going to come from and how they will be earned. This really helps to guide the students. With shy students you can reduce much of their anxiety by putting them into presentation groups. (3-4 students per group). Then I assign each student in the group a topic for a specific length of time, say 5 minutes. On presentation day I have the group come to the front of the room and sit behind a table.… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Matt, Good point and well said. We have to keep ourselves fresh and excited about what we are doing or both the students and ourselves are going to have a very long course sequence. Gary

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