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.

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Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reinforcement as Motivation

Don, This is good training for when they are in the workplace and have to defend their positions or methods to fellow workers. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Don, Like the quote. It has a lot of merit for all students to consider. Thanks for sharing it with us. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reasons for Enrolling

Dana, I am sure we have all had some very poor instructors in our past. By taking a positive attitude that we can learn something from everyone we meet we can learn from even poor instructors. Also, you make a good point that the career college student is an adult so he or she needs to secure the needed information if their career is going to grow. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

MacDameon, Validation is an important re-enforcer for students especially those that are not to sure of their abilities or potential success in a course. Their self confidence will increase as the validation is provided. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Learning Environment Effect

Deidre, Right you are in terms of making course content come alive and have value to students. Being able to observe the items, tools or procedures that are used in the field helps them to integrate this information into their working memories. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor Enthusiasm

Terry, I agree with you about the need for a supportive work place. When that is missing then the morale of everyone goes down and it has a dramatic impact on the workplace. I hope it improves for you or that you have the opportunity to relocate to another educational setting that places value on quality instruction and support. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Understanding Learner Characteristics

Terry, Good plan to follow as it gives you insight into how your new crop of students is going to react to your instructional planning and delivery. The more you know the more accurately you can target your instruction. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions

Jane, This is such a great way to establish yourself as a learning leader. They learn they have an experienced professional that is going to be helping them move closer to their career goals. This is a powerful message to send. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Using Graphic Organizers

Paula, This is a good point because it is often challenging for students to see how the parts fit together to complete the big picture of a project, object or procedure. A graphic organizer can help in showing this students so they can see what their contributions are to the successful completion of the effort. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Paula, This is a good point. The more we can use the life experiences of our adult learners the more engaged they will be. They need to see how what they already know will assist them in the learning process. As a result their self confidence grows and they become even more motivated to be successful in the course. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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