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

Making Your Expectations Clear

Leonard, You are on the right track with your approach. If you can give specific examples of your expectations that will help to reinforce in the minds of your students what you want from them and that will help with their growth as well. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Leonard, One of the best motivators I have found it to bring in graduates that have been successful in the field. The students connect with the graduates and see them as peers. The students start to see themselves in the career that the graduate talks about and for many that is the first time in their lives they see the ROI of being in school and working hard. The other motivator is to take field trips if possible to the career sites. I also use job shadowing as a motivator. On a more classroom level I use a lot of… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Preparing and Delivering Effective Lectures

Roberta, You use a key word, relevance in your comments and this is the core of why you are teaching the content you are. If students can see the relevance they will be able to make application of the content which in turn leads to increased student satisfaction. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Roberta, This is one of the challenges of being an educator. You are always striving to find that balance and keep students engaged. I think it is fun as well since an instructor can be creative in the selection of content and instructional delivery. Exciting to see how an activity works for students that you have developed. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Jennifer, It is the course road map (GPS) and keeps everyone going the same direction. As you mention the syllabus informs students about the expectations and requirements of the course so their anxiety levels can be reduced since they know how the course is going to operate. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Jennifer, Good strategy because by talking with colleagues you will pick up hints and methods that will advance your knowledge and expertise as an instructor. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Graphic Organizers

Dawn, Good use of the because they let the students see the segments of the information and well as the whole as they work through the different sections of the course. The graphic organizers help them keep everything together in a way that the can understand and review later when preparing for a test or presentation. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Tammy, I think this type of application is so important. The need to be able to analyze different situations and work with different individuals. The more you can provide this the more they will be comfortable when they are out in the workplace. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Sonja, Like the strategies you are using to help make your class real for your students. Using this format your students are going to have a realistic picture of what they are going to encounter when they enter employment. This will ease their transition and help them to get a jump on their career growth. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor Enthusiasm

Lee, Passion for one's field and enthusiasm for teaching about it help to "sell" the content of the course. Students catch the enthusiasm and this makes for more enjoyable classes for everyone. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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