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

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Jacqueline, Learners like variety and change of pace while learning. You are providing both through your instructional planning. Keep up the good work. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

Rana, Right you are. A well prepared syllabus answers questions and gives direction. This sets the tone for a positive class to come. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Jacqueline, Ways to increase your knowledge as an educator should be a part of your professional development plan. You have such a plan as evidenced by your comments and I know you and your students are going to benefit from your expanded expertise. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Role Models

Rana, Good strategy because we need and are the role models that our students observe and follow. We cannot expect them to follow rules and policies if we don't. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor REFOCUS

Scott, Right you are and that is why I put something new into each course I teach. I find that planning and introducing a new activity or project gets me excited because I want to know if it will be successful for my students. This makes a repeat course fun as well as a bit of a mystery until I see that my new activity worked. Then I can try something else the next class session. In addition, this effort helps me to improve the course each time I teach it. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor REFOCUS

Jan, You make such and important point about maintaining a positive attitude in spite of certain student attitudes. We need to focus on providing the best instruction we can and if certain students decide not to put forth the effort required to pass the course we know in our minds that we have done the best we can do to help them and they alone chose not to be successful. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Lawrence, Well said and your definition of your role is made clear as well. This is why we are in the business of teaching. We are impacting lives and helping individuals achieve their career goals. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Offering Varied Instructional Delivery

Lauren, It is important to offer variety in your instructional delivery for the reason you state. Reinforcement of content occurs through repetition and application. So the more we can do this in our teaching the more our students will retain in terms of content. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Kareneen, Good point about the needs of adult learners. They are for the most part goal oriented and are in the class to advance their career goals. They want to learn and when learning occurs will respect their instructor for what he or she is teaching them. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Tena, So true and so important. This is the foundation of earning the respect of your students while you are respecting them through listening to their introductions and reasons why they are taking the course. From then on it is a building process leading to the development of rapport. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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