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

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Hi Wayne, Good point about the need to offer variety in our instructional delivery. In many ways what we do as instructors is to offer a learning buffet to our students. With the variety of delivery they pick different ways to learn at that fit their preferences. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Alice, This is a good way to internalize student feedback. This way you can strive for growth as an educator but also be able to stick to your goals for the course. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor REFOCUS

Hi Dragush, This is a great way to keep the students engaged. Competition generally gets the students excited and involved because they want to do their best and be recognized for it. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Instructor Enthusiasm

Hi Dragush, Right you are. If we aren't excited about our subject and being able to share it it is for sure that our students won't be. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Hi Robert, You are right humans shouldn't be so quick to judge others but they do so we teachers need to make sure that first impression is a good one so we can get everyone off to a good start. Good point. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Hi Charles, Give it a try in one of your classes and see how it works for you. I have been using pretesting for many years and it really helps me to target the current class of students. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Hi Alan, I like the sequence you have created for walking your students through from small steps to larger efforts. By giving them early success you are building a solid learning base from which their confidence and skills can grow leading to increased retention and success. Thanks for sharing your model with us. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Sharing Comprehensive and Clear Course Requirements

Hi Brandi, This is so important so you can get the course off to a good start. The students know what the policies, expectations and requirements are from the beginning. There are not surprises so they can concentrate on the course content and assignments. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Hi Jenny, Welcome to teaching. I wish you much success in this wonderful career area. You are impacting lives each day you teach and never forget that as you prepare your lessons. The more ways you can help your students to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills the more successful they will be. So keep looking ways to help them acquire this expertise. Gary

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Hi Dray, Very well said. This is the mentoring and supportive part of what we do as educators. We not only share knowledge but we also provide ways of encouraging students when they are have life challenges. The examples you mentioned reflect what comes through our classroom doors each day and we need to be good listeners when those issues arrive. By being supportive we are going to keep our students engaged and focused on their futures. Gary

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