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 a Positive First Impression

Arthur, So true and so important in getting a new class off to a good start. What are some strategies you use to get your classes off to a good start and make a good impression? Thanks for your input on this. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Arthur, Goals and objectives are the indicators of direction that the course is going to go. They also peak interest since they cover the competencies that will be achieved by course end. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Katharine, Showing passion for your field and then expressing it through enthusiasm for teaching about it really helps to sell the course to the students. They see their learning leader getting excited and they get excited as well. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Role Models

Arthur, These simple words and the fact you took time to express them means a lot to students. This type of encouragement may mean the difference between staying in school or dropping out. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Instructional Professionalism

George, Being a model to and for student is so important because you may be the first person they have spent time with that comes from the field that they are preparing to enter. As a model you are constantly being observed both in and out of class and that is something to remember as you encounter your students in other setting throughout the school. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Supporting Problem Solving Skills

Mardi, This is such important information for students to have and understand. We humans problem solve constantly so if we will stop to reflect on the problems we have solved such as getting a paper printed we will realize that in fact we know more about reflective thinking and problem solving than we think we do. We can even surprise ourselves sometimes! Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Reflective Thinking

Mardi, Great points about reflective thinking. Without knowledge in terms of what has been done in the past there is not a foundation upon which to reflect about what should be done in an emergency situation. With the foundation a number of possible solutions can come to mind and this gives a person a departure point for providing care. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Discipline in Critical Thinking

Mardi, Thank you for making these comments about discipline. You are right that it is often though of as being negative rather than an essential skill needed for success. Helping them to see the value of self discipline is a challenge and it takes a lot of examples before they start to slowly see that discipline is what it takes to create a future for themselves. An example I use about self discipline is the within six weeks of starting a diet or exercise program 96% of the people will have quit. This piece of data says a lot about… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Mardi, I don't have a specific answer to your question because I am still working through the question myself. My students are like yours in that they want to learn a formula or recipe that does not ask them to think but gives them the steps to solve a problem. I use a lot of case studies to get them to slow down, think about and then offer solutions. We discuss the proposed solutions in relation to the problem and why they will or won't work. The case studies have helped a lot but I am still working on other… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Betty, Your last sentence is how individuals needs to see situations and then come up with solutions. You are right if there was only one way of exercising then there would only need to be one type of exercise machine. There are most often a variety of ways to approach and solve a problem if you spend time thinking about the options available. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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