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

Developing Student Rapport

Fiorella, This is a comfortable way to get students involved in the course and seeing how the content will be of help to them in their career development. This is a growth process that they need to understand as they expand their knowledge and expertise in their chosen field. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Application of New Knowledge

Bruce, Students really perk up with stories from the field. Sharing them increases the value of the course content to the students as they see relevance and application to what is being taught. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Bruce, Key part of our student interaction. They need to know we care about them and their success. They also need to know that we will be supportive of them but they have to put forth the effort needed since it is their future that they are preparing for. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Students as Class Members

Natalie, Good strategies and good balance in getting every student to participate in the instructional process. It is so important for each student to be a part of the class and unless we work at it, it is easy to let some students slip to the bottom without contributing to the class. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Students as Class Members

Bruce, One of the main ways to increase learning is through the asking of questions so the more you can help your students to ask questions without feeling like they are going to thought of as being ill prepared the better. Questioning and listening are two great ways that we all learn throughout our lives. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Re: Effective Retention Strategies

Fiorella, Thank you for sharing your comprehensive approach to providing support to your students. This way your students can see how and what they need to do to achieve success in the course. Then it is up to them to put forth the needed time and effort to be successful. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Richard, The key is reading your students and that is exactly what you are doing with your observations and then modifications to keep them engaged. This is what focused teaching is all about. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Implementing Relevant Course Content

Christina, Students love props as you have learned. My students get excited when I bring in something from the field and let them see, touch and interact with the object(s). These are what I call "connectors", that is they connect the content with the minds of the students via their tactile senses. Since you teach such an interesting area of nursing I know your students really enjoy the classes where you bring in the tools that they can handle and learn about. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Your Instructional Style

Joseph, This is a good point because as you mention classes take on a personality of their own and it is up to us as instructors to adapt to their needs and provide instruction that engages them. I teach 5 sections of the same course and each one is unique and thus I plan for five different courses if you will. The result is that I never get bored teaching the same content since it is done in different ways. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Analytical Skills

Armin, Great strategy to use. Once your students have this approach mastered they are going to be able to work in many different situations while problem solving. Successful problem solving is a career tool that everyone needs to have experience in using. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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