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

Implementing Relevant Course Content

Marina, Real life examples increase the value of the course content for students. They see the reason behind teaching what you are teaching and the lab work they are expected to perform. This is their ROI due to the relevance and application that comes out of sharing these stories. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Marina, Students like change of pace and variety in their instructional delivery. You are doing both with your approach plus since you are teaching lab you have their interest via the hands on activities that will be conducted. This is a great learning opportunity for your students and I know they will be engaged. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Marina, Well said about the "nutty professor" part. It is easy to get a reputation like that by not being organized, starting class on time and in other ways sending the message that you are not prepared as the learning leader. With your approach you are demonstrating a professional attitude and modeling the desired behavior of the field. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Student Motivation Factors

Kent, Good list. Thank you for sharing it with us because these items are what will help to keep students engaged an focused for the duration of the course. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Student Feedback

Camille, Right you are about the value of student feedback. I collect feedback from my students on 3X5 cards after each major project or assignment. They do not sign the cards so they are candid about how the effort worked for them. Over the years I have received very good input and have been able to improve my instructional delivery as a result. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Role Models

Martha, Good way to be as you enter the classroom/lab and get ready to share with your students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Analytical Skills

Marshall, Like the way you challenge your students and are moving English from being just a technical area to an applied area. You are doing this with your questioning and asking students to think for themselves and not just rely on a rote answer. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Intelligence

Marshall, Like your analysis and definition of intelligence. The saying "It isn't how smart you are but how you are smart." applies here. There are so many different ways to measure intelligence and then display it but in formal education it boils down to a specific test score. In the career world we look more at functional assessment and how individuals are able to perform tasks and solve problems and that is where I find the most comfort personally since I come from this world. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Graphic Organizers

Brandi, Thank you for these wonderful words about the benefits of using graphic organizers. They really make a difference in helping students to retain course content. I find them very useful with my older students that have been out of school for a while and are not sure how to take notes. Graphic organizers help them to see the key elements and get them written down in a way that makes sense to them. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Terrie, This is what customizing instruction should be about. We take our content and shape it to meet the learning preferences of students that we have at the current time. This is what teaching is an ongoing non-static process. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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