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 Your Expectations Clear

Heather, I use handouts because they are reminders for students beyond the syllabus. Keep up this strategy because it is really helpful for students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Jacqueline, It is a building process from day one and the foundation needs to be a positive first impression. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Kimberley, Students are concerned about what the requirements for a course are and how they can fulfill them. So the quicker they know and understand them the quicker their anxiety starts to fade away. Your point about getting this information to them quickly is a good one. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

David, So true. With a poor environmental setting learning starts to fall away and class management becomes a problem. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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The Learning Environment Effect

Heather, Yes, it is. This is how you get a course off to a good start. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Kimberley, Good point. Feedback is so important to our instructional improvement. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Your Instructional Style

Carmelita, Break down your content into small segments such as mini-lectures of 15-20 minutes. Once you have lectured over a concept then do an activity for a few minutes. The activity can be a discussion, Q&A, small group, case study, etc.. The idea is to provide variety in the learning process. This helps learners with short attention spans to stay engaged. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Motivating Learners

Peaches, Students love to hear stories from their instructors about the field. These stories help to make the content real and gives it value. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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Expanding Your Instructional Abilities

Jessica, I think all of these strategies will help with your professional development. The key is to have a professional development plan and continually work to expand your expertise. You are doing this. Keep up the good work. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Intelligence

Ariana, This is so important for students to be able to do. Critical thinking and problem solving is essential in fields where there are a number of different possibilities as well as conclusions and medicine is certainly one of them. So the more you can help your students to develop expertise in both of the areas the easier their transition is going to be into the work world. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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