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

Using a Well-prepared Syllabus

John, Your last sentence is a good one. You cannot expect different results if you don't prepare a syllabus that informs the students and supports the course. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Sophia, Variety is critical for instructional engagement. The more we change the flow of the class and use different instructional methods the more focused our students will be. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Defining Instructional Professionalism

Michael, What are some ways that you reflect your professionalism to your students? Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

vagif, In what way? Can you expand on this? Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Mandy, Insight is critical as you reinforce and give feedback to students. You are using a customized approach to make sure you are targeting each individual student. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Re: Effective Retention Strategies

Michael, I think you will get good results from this strategy. My students really like using them. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reasons for Enrolling

Michael, Attempt to bring in activities that will engage them. Do a good job of preparing and being enthusiastic about what you are offering. The fact is some students will never put forth any effort in the class even though they are paying money and preparing for their future. I am always disappointed when I have students like this and I talk with them to see how I might be able to motivate them and their efforts. Sometimes this works and other times it doesn't. At the end of the class I do know this and that is I have… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Vladimir, Like the proverb because it is very accurate. It really reinforces why we need to plan and be ready. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Accommodating Learner Preferences

Cliff, Good approach. You are going to be able to keep your students engaged. I would use role playing in a course like Social Media to act out the life of a Twitter (I know sounds silly but it can be fun.) or something along that line. I use a lot of activity and movement in my courses even though they are more content based. The students like this approach and stay focused throughout. Gary Dr. Gary Meers

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation

Cliff, Good question and one that has a depends answer. I agree about the students needing to be able to function alone because they will be doing so in the workplace in a lot of situations. I use group activities and learning groups to reinforce concepts and make applications. The majority of time the students are doing case studies and problems when in groups. I would estimate I use groups for 25-30% of the course though this is not a hard and fast rule because a lot of it depends on the students I have in the course that phase.… >>>

End of Content