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

Instructor Enthusiasm

Zack, We need to bring to the classroom/lab passion for our field and enthusiasm in getting to teach it. This is a great combination for generating student engagement and excitement. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Re: Effective Retention Strategies

Kurtis, This has been my experience as well so we need to incorporate such elements into our lecture preparation. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

Robert, Right you are in terms of how our students need to be settled into the course for the reasons stated. They need to see how they can interact and be successful in a group setting. Not only is this important for them as students but they need to learn how to work with and interact with others as they will be doing this once they are in the work setting. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Being Successful in College

Kurtis, You make a very important point in your last sentence. We need to strive for application on the part of students rather than just short term memory as you mention. So the more experiences, case studies and learning group interactions we can offer them the more applications they will make which will result in more content being stored in their working memory banks. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Joseph, This is a good point and one we need to remember. Information, accurate or not is passed from one class to another so the students come into class with perceptions about you and your class somewhat already formed. We need to make sure we are set professionally to overcome the misperceptions and reinforce the positive perceptions the students have about us and our class. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Eboni, What are some way you have found the environment to influence students ability to focus? Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Joseph, So true. We need to see the learning environment as our students see it. When we do then we will make sure the environment is prepared, comfortable and supportive for learning. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Eboni, What are some examples of how you do this? Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Joseph, You are receiving professional development from a number of different sources. This is a great way to expand your knowledge and skills as an educator. Your students will benefit from all the effort you are putting forth to be more effective in your instruction. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reasoning as a Resource

Brian, Thank you for this well described critical thinking definition and process. This is what critical thinking should be about. Students need to have sufficient experiences through activities such as case studies to acquire the basic steps of problem solving so they can expand their expertise as critical thinkers once they enter their career area. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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