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

Your Instructional Style

Misty, You make a good point when you reference the fact that you let them know you were a student as well. Sometimes students forget we all were students at one time or another and that we have gone through the learning experiences they are going through. We do have an understanding of their needs and challenges. When they have such an understanding we can earn their respect and get them engaged in the learning process at a much higher level as their learning leader. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Karlsen, You have a great support system for your professional development. In taking advantage of all of these resources your students are being well served and you are getting to be the instructor you want to be. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Instructional Professionalism

Roberta, Good list of how to operate a professional learning environment. You are addressing both the content and the human factor with this approach. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Reflective Thinking

Patricia, Yes, it does. It is a step back and think process that can yield many results on many different levels. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Discipline in Critical Thinking

Patricia, I agree with your comments about the need for personal discipline. Many of the students I have do not want to develop self discipline because it involves effort. They just want to do a Goggle search and move on. I strive to help them to understand that a critical thinker and problem solver is going to be valued in the workplace and thus be more successful. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Critical Thinker Characteristics

Patricia, Good list of characteristics. Many students are not willing to invest in themselves to develop such a skill set. Hopefully we as their instructors get them to see the value associated with being life long learners and critical thinkers. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Analytical Skills

Heather, I think this is a great way to teach content like yours. This method enables students to see the relevance of what has been taught and then make application of what they have learned. This increases greatly the retention of the content for storage in their working memories for use later. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Intelligence

Heather, This is where the saying "It isn't how smart you are but how you are smart." comes into play. You are right about how a person needs to use intelligence in reviewing a situation, proposing solutions and then taking action. When humans are involved there are so many subjective factors in play that it takes a lot of intelligence of the practical kind to come up with positive results. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reasoning as a Resource

Heather, Reasoning is essential and is a part of what we call common sense. Common sense seems to be drifting away from many of the students I have. They want a quick, formula based solution to every problem. As we know life does not operate that way especially in the legal world. So the more skill you can help them develop in this area the more valuable your students will be in the work world. Keep up the good work. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Critical Thinker Characteristics

Heather, I use case studies as my primary processing format with my students as well. Having real life scenarios available helps students to think through the different outcomes that may result from how they approach the situation. You are right about this expanding their critical thinking skills as they work through these situations. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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