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

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Gary, This is a common challenge I think many of us instructors face in trying to help our students to develop critical thinking skills. It takes some time and effort to find the appropriate case studies and class activities that will slow them down and get them to think in steps as they move toward a solution. Not easily done but when they start to see the value of this approach it is a light bulb moment in class. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Brady, I like and use this approach a lot in my classes for the reasons you list. These methods helps the students to see the relevancy of the content as well as the applications that can be made. This is a win win situation for everyone when completed. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Brady, Right you are. Different courses lend themselves to different approaches and we instructors need to be adaptive in our approach so we can make sure to use the appropriate delivery for the topic being covered. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Brady, Way to go in "connecting the dots" in terms of student engagement. By making it personal you are helping them to see that their life experiences have a relationship to what they are studying. The more connections made the more engagement there will be. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Motivation Techniques

Rita, Like this idea! You are rewarding those students that are on time and demonstrating their professionalism in relation to being dedicated students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Valuing Student Opinions

Jennifer, You are helping your students with this approach in sharing their opinions. It is important for them to learn how to share their opinions is a positive way even when they disagree with another opinion giver. They are going to need this skill when they are out in the workplace and need to convince someone to help them or contribute to a problem solving situation. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Students as Class Members

Kim, This is a great way to get students interacting with each other and your introduction activity gives them information about each other so they can talk about something besides school. This helps them to create a network of support for themselves as this is such a need for adult students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

Kim, Thank you for sharing this story with us. A few kind words and a caring instructor made all the difference with this student as evidenced by her turn around. We need to keep the human factor in mind as we work with our students. They may be needing some encouragement from their learning leader so we need to be on the lookout for when we can provide it. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Nelia, Student learners like change of pace and variety in their instructional interactions. The more instructors can offer these two the more engagement there is going to be as the class progresses. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Nelia, A great first class with enjoyable introductions and ice breakers goes a long in setting the stage for a positive first impression as well as how the students view the upcoming class sessions. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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