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 Instruction Relevant

Kathryn, The more personal investment in the content (in your case the applications you are making to their lives) the greater the retention of the content. Also, the value of the course content is increased because they can see how it can be applied in their own lives. This is good ROI for them to realize. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reinforcement as Motivation

Barbara, One thing instructors need to remember is that adult students are just taller children. Of course the content and the activities need to be age appropriate and professional but the rewards can be simple things such as candy, smiley faces, etc.. My students get very competitive when we are reviewing for quizzes and playing Jeopardy. They want to win the prize what ever it may be. This is a fun time that results in a lot of learning. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Student Feedback

Jason, Another form of feedback you can get that I find very helpful is to give each student a 3X5 card and have them give me feedback about a quiz or assignment. I get really good feedback (in many years of teaching no venting as of yet) that I can use to improve the course. What I like about the feedback is that I can make adjustments while the course is still in process. End of course evaluations provide very little accurate feedback to instructors because the questions are generally "one size fits all" generic questions for the college and… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Jason, You last sentence is so true. It boils down to it being up to them because after all it is their future they are preparing for. You are doing all of the right things to enhance retention so keep up the good work and count the ones that do respond and complete their program as successes. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Creating Personal Support Systems

Jason, This is a very good way to provide support. Just knowing you are there to help if needed increases the confidence that student have that they can be successful in the course if they are willing to put forth the effort. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Preparing and Delivering Effective Lectures

Sylinda, The more examples and applications you can make with real world experiences the more value students associate with the content being offered. This is such a good strategy to use. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Offering Varied Instructional Delivery

Jason, In the grand scheme of things you don't. This is the tragic part of teaching. The intent of "No Child Left Behind" was that each and every student would arrive at high school graduation with the same set of skills and knowledge. Since we are dealing with human beings that was never going to happen. So what instructors do is to offer content in a number of different ways and see to engage the majority of students in the process. By using different delivery methods students can use their different preferences and become knowledgeable. A long way from a… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Offering Varied Instructional Delivery

Alice, You first sentence is the core of how you plan your instructional delivery. We need to "read" our students and then plan around their learning preferences. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Jack, How do you stay current in your field? Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Sylinda, This is the way to show to your students the value of the syllabus as reference guide and resource. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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