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

Student Motivation Factors

Colin, Motivation is a powerful emotion and we need to strive to provide support to encourage student motivation in any way we can. You make a number of very good points about how to challenge students to make their own motivation a part of their daily student lives. We need to help them because as they get midway through courses they often get tired and worn down and start to lose the reason why they enrolled in the first place. This is the time to recapture the reason for enrollment and get them thinking about their futures and earning potential.… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Motivation Techniques

Laurel, Students like to share their life experiences as well as hear stories from their instructors about their field of study. These stories are motivators for all those that hear them. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Student Feedback

Laurel, The more we can provide feedback to our students the more informed they are as well as the more engaged they feel. They know their status in the course and what they need to do to continue their success or improve to enhance their status in the course. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor Enthusiasm

Julian, Good observation. Yes, passion for one's content area or field and enthusiasm in sharing knowledge about it increases student motivation resulting in higher retention. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Increasing Student Retention

Laurel, Knowing why they are enrolled is an important bit of information to have. This information can help you to shape your instructional delivery to meet their learning needs and provide support. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reasons for Enrolling

Laurel, Good point and one we need to remember as we do our instructional planning. If we can provide them with early success their confidence will grow as well as their knowledge and skills. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Preparing and Delivering Effective Lectures

Tavia, These additional insights really help you with your own instructional planning. The more you know about the current group of students the more accurately you can meet their instructional needs and provide them with needed support. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Offering Varied Instructional Delivery

Bradford, Learners like change of pace and variety and you are offering both with your approach. You are showing both relevancy and application with these methods. As a result your students will have a much higher rate of retention of the content. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

James, Well said. The first impression must be a positive one if a solid foundation of trust and respect is going to be established. For the duration of the course you then build on these two elements. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Tia, I support the position that you set the tone for the class at the very beginning and this tone then can be maintained or modified as needed. After many years of teaching I find that no two classes are the same and that I need to be flexible in how I customize my instructional delivery to meet the specific needs of the students that are currently enrolled. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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