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

Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Hetty, Great plan and one that is essential for longer classes. I teach one from 4 pm until 10 pm and it requires a lot of planning and energy to keep the students engaged. I see this as a challenge in relation to keeping the course on pace and the students learning while enjoying their time in class. At the end of the night it is a great feeling when I know I have nailed it and they left wanting to come back. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Preparing and Delivering Effective Lectures

Miriam, Spoken like a well experienced educator. No matter how great our content and delivery is there are external as well as internal influences that take students off track. You have a good way of getting them engaged and focused on the content they need to acquire for course success. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Offering Varied Instructional Delivery

Karen, I can appreciate your comments about too much content and not enough time. I teach a gen ed course that is required so the students don't want to be there in the first place and then I have a lot of content to cover to set the students up for their next series of courses. It is tough but I constantly look for new and more efficient ways to deliver the content in a way that keeps the students engaged. I reach almost all of the students using this approach. For the students I don't reach I do know… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Christopher, Good plan and I like the use of homework right of front as an assessment tool. The next day tells you a lot about each student depending on how they respond to the assignment. This gives you a baseline from which you can determine how to interact with and provide support to the students. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Miriam, You have hit upon one of my big issues in class. Lack of respect and using a cell phone in class are two things that I deal with right up front, just as you do. I really like your approach because you are letting your students have fun with the examples while making clear the behavior expectations. The stage is set for a great class with this method. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Debbie, Good to hear you have a model to follow based upon your own positive experience as a student. Build upon and use all the strategies that you have had exposure to and with your own creativity you will have a tool box of teaching that contains all kinds of "tools" to get the job done. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Darrold, This is a good way of scaffolding learning. Each step is building on the previous step and you are checking for understanding along the way. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Shivani, How do you set the stage for your new classes so you make a positive first impression on your students? Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Donald, I agree. This is sometimes overlooked in the planning process and learning suffers as a result. The environment sets the tone for what is going to occur within the walls of the building. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Christopher, Good strategy. Learner crave change of pace and variety in their learning. You are doing such with your efforts and as a result you are keeping your students engaged. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

End of Content