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

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Jon, I always look forward to starting a new class of students because I get to work with and instruct such interesting individuals. Through the introductions I get to learn more about my students and what their life experiences are and how we can relate them to the course content. Great way to get the course off to a good start. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

Austin, Thank you for these well expressed comments about the need for clear goals and objectives. As you say we all need to have clear goals and objectives and to communicate them to our students. This sets the stage for the course to proceed with minimum misunderstanding and confusion. This helps to keep the students in a forward focus mind set leading to enhanced course success. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Raymond, You have a good start in your instructional delivery approach. As for suggestions for techniques to use while lecturing, I would suggest that you bring passion for the content and enthusiasm for teaching it. Both of these approaches will help to "sell" the content to the students. Also, if you can use case studies with the students after you have covered a topic you will increase their engagement and they will see the relevance to what is being taught. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Motivating Learners

Jon, Good strategy. The more real life examples you can bring in and more application you can make the more engaged your students are going to be. The start to see the value of the course content when they can make applications. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making a Positive First Impression

Peter, Good point and well said. Thanks. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Terry, Application of what they are being taught is what makes the course come alive for them. They need to see the relevance of the course and application does that. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Student Motivation Factors

Maria, Right you are. Sometimes students come into class without a clear understanding of what their goals in life are. With some help from their instructor these goals can be identified and then worked on while they are in your class. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Comprehensive Planning for Instructional Success

Michael, Thank you for these comments about the value of comprehensive planning. It is so important for the reasons you list and in addition it greatly reduces stress because as the instructor you are ready to go and you can relax a bit and enjoy talking with your students as you get ready to start the class. I really enjoy this time because I can take a read of the mood of the class and then make any adjustments I need to make, knowing I am prepared for the upcoming class session. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Role Models

Dona, Great list of ways to be a role model for students. Each of these elements are critical to the development of a total picture for students. They need to see their learning leader demonstrating each of the items on your list and the result will be an understanding of what it takes to be successful in their career area. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Graphic Organizers

Fordham, Well said. Repetition is a powerful teaching and learning tool. The more they hear and apply the greater the retention will be. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

End of Content