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

Instructors as Motivators

Jackie, Thank you for sharing this personal example of how you have moved into being the instructor you are today. You are right about you having to be true to yourself and be who you are with your students. The results as you have shared will be rewarding for everyone. I wish you continued teaching success! Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Katie, This is such a great way to get the students settled into the course and focusing their attention on what they are going to be covering in the coming session. I find that these sessions are a lot of fun because they are a little less formal but are engaging for the students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Katie, Questioning as a teaching tool is very effective for the reasons you state. Students need to know how to internalize the content and then store it in their memory bank for application at a later date. The more opportunities they get to solidify the content in their minds the better they are going to be at recalling it when needed. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Supporting Problem Solving Skills

Tracy, These are the strategies I use in my classes and they work great with my students. Each of these methods give students opportunities to refine their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Supporting Problem Solving Skills

Daniel, I use this method and I think it is a great way to enhance the problem solving skills of students. Also, this way they get to make application of the content that has been shared with them. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Reflective Thinking

Daniel, Walking around a problem can be very helpful, whether it is walking around mentally or physically. This walk around time is spent on trying to see the problem from many different angles and then coming up with a set of possible solutions. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Reflective Thinking

KEVIN, You are right on with this comment and perspective. So many students after a challenge comes up want to rush forward without stepping back and analyzing why the product did not come out right. If they will step back they can start to problem solve in their minds about the steps they followed and the way they did things which will help them to realize why the dish did or did not come out as they had anticipated. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Discipline in Critical Thinking

Daniel, This is such an important part of critical thinking. When doing critical thinking we need to recall what experiences we have had and how they worked out in relation to the problem that is before us. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Critical Thinker Characteristics

Daniel, Good definition and a solid foundation upon which to build when problem solving. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Ruth, This is a really great way to start returning adults off in a gen ed course. You are doing a lot to reduce their fears and anxiety in relation to being successful as college students. If you can get them over this barrier the odds are greatly increased they will stay in the course and school. Keep up these great supports. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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