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 Clear Goals and Objectives

Jennifer, Good model to follow as it gives you a format to work through as you reverse engineer your instructional planning. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Your Expectations Clear

Miguel, Good way to inform your students about how the course is going to unfold from the perspective of the goals and objectives and then give them on an ongoing basis the study outline and weekly lesson plans. This way they know exactly what is going on at all times in the course. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Traci, I am a big fan of using case studies. My students really love getting them and problem solving to get through them. What they like is that since they are real cases they get to know the outcomes and this helps to reinforce to the students the reasons they need to follow certain steps and complete certain procedures. They get to see the results of the case studies so they have a better idea of what the outcome will be when they are working on a patient. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Reinforcement as Motivation

Bradley, I use games a lot in my classes as well. You are right about how competition really helps to get the class going and the excitement factor to rise. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Student Feedback

Bradley, This is a great strategy to use. You get input via feedback about the course and the students see that their opinions are valued. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor Enthusiasm

Jennifer, Yes they do. Enthusiasm for teaching and passion for one's field helps to "sell" the value of the course to students. Excitement is catching so we need to bring it to class and spread it around. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Feeling Accepted Helps with Success

Jennifer, This is so important and teacher need to remember this when interacting with their students, especially older adult learners. Everyone needs to feel welcome and accepted into the class. This is the foundation upon which respect will be earned and rapport developed. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Developing Clear Goals and Objectives

John, So true. Without them the class will have no direction and the students will be confused and anxious. Clear goals and objectives gets everyone on the same page and moving forward. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructors as Role Models

John, This is probably the most important service you can provide your students. Seeing you as a learning leader and model of your career area goes a long way to help students to see that they are in a course that will help them to move forward in their career development. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Michael, Wow! This is why we teach. Thank you for sharing this email with us. I know these words are encouraging to you and gives you reason to further increase your interaction, support and enthusiasm needed to be a learning leader to and for your students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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