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 Graphic Organizers

Scott, Many of my students lack organizational skills and your comments are right on in terms of the value that graphic organizers bring to them. Helps them to see how different concepts come together to create a solution to a problem or how each element contributes to the whole. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Making Instruction Relevant

Scott, This understanding is so helpful in customizing your instructional delivery. The more you know about your students the more accurate you can be with your planning. In addition, this understanding becomes the foundation for the development of rapport with the students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Teaching to Multiple Intelligences

Don, It is important to get a "read" of your students and you are doing such with your first two days of observations. This gives you insight into how to develop your instructional strategies and move the learning forward. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Adapting Your Instructional Strategy

Don, I am sure you are going to like the results you get from using this approach. The more connections you can make to their life experiences the greater the retention of the content is going to be. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Effective Motivation Techniques

Kellie, Amazing how things like this work! Remember adults are just taller children. I have students that will work very hard to earn a piece of candy or smiley face. The key is that they get recognition for their accomplishments. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Application of New Knowledge

Tina, Repetition is a powerful learning tool and you are using it well. This approach gets them to making applications of what they are learning in a way that has them repeatedly using the material that has been covered. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

The Human Factor in Retention

Ed, You make a good point about the fact that we still need humans to interact with other humans. B.F. Skinner was going to create a teaching machine in the 1960's that would replace all teachers in the world. Well that didn't work so well since we are still here interacting with our students. As for the human factor having a somewhat distance and impersonal tone to it, maybe we can come up with something that better describes our interactions with other humans. Do you have any suggestions a long this line. Maybe we can come up with a new… >>>

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Instructor Enthusiasm

Jenaro, Good advice for instructors to follow. By following your suggestions instructors will be comfortable in front of the students as they respond to questions and move the course forward. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Gary, This is a great style to use with your students. Thank you for sharing it with us as I know it will be valuable to other instructors that are working to find their own method of interacting with students. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Discussion Comment

Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged in Learning

Jessica, This strategy is a good one so students will see that they need to stay engaged and focused on what is being discussed. This method will also help the class to move through material in an orderly way. Gary Gary Meers, Ed.D.

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