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

Motivating Learners

Marshall, I agree about enthusiasm. If we don't bring it it won't be there. We need to bring passion for our field as well. Both of these elements need to be present for learning to progress. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Supporting Problem Solving Skills

Miriam, Students love to have real world examples shared with them as you know. Real world examples help them to see application and relevancy to the content and this increases their investment in their learning and career development. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Analytical Skills

Miriam, I use a lot of case studies with my students to help them with developing analytical skills. The value of the case studies is that I or someone in my field has experienced the situation outlined in the study. So the students get to analyze and then propose solutions. When they have completed their work we then get to go through the case again and see how it was revolved so they get to check their solutions against final solution. This way they grow their skill sets in reflective thinking problem analysis. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Reflective Thinking

Miriam, Good point about reflective thinking and I especially like your last sentence because one's growth is dependent to a large degree on not repeating the same mistakes over and over again. As the old saying goes, "we need to learn from our mistakes". Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Intelligence

Miriam, I think you have done a very good job of defining intelligence because I think we humans have many different ways we display and use our intelligences. Your work as a personal trainer involved functional assessments of your clients in relation to all of the items you listed so you can develop a customized plan that will fit their needs and help them achieve their goals. You are using a wide variety of intelligence components in practical ways when doing this. I wish you continued success in your efforts. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Jason, Good point about how we need to use as many different sensory inputs as we can with our students. The more they are involved physically and mentally the higher the content retention is going to be. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivation Through Relevancy and Application

Julie, Glad to help with your encouragement because you are impacting the lives of your students in both a professional and personal way as a result of your support of their learning efforts. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Estella, Good point and one we need to remember as we start discussion sessions with our students. If they feel comfortable and supported by us they will be more likely to participate and contribute. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Scott, These little nuggets of encouragement are so important because as you have experienced the little encouragements results in big pay offs for everyone. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Harrison, Good ideas for starting the engagement process for students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

End of Content