Ronald J. Gerrits, Ph.D.
Professor, Program Director
- Milwaukee WI UNITED STATES
- Allen Bradley Hall of Science S355A
- Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Dr. Ron Gerrits focuses his professional efforts on science education.
Education, Licensure and Certification
Ph.D.
Physiology
Medical College of Wisconsin
1999
B.S.
Biomedical Engineering
Milwaukee School of Engineering
1994
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Ronald Nichols Award for the Support of the Perfusion Profession, Wisconsin Perfusion Society
2019
Biology Scholars Assessment Residency and Program
2011-12
Biology Scholars Research Residency and Program
2009-10
Bioscience Education Net Scholar
2006-08
Oscar Werwath Distinguished Teacher Award, MSOE
2006
Affiliations
- American Society of Microbiology (ASM) : Member
- American Physiological Society (APS) : Member
- Society for Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) : Member
- Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS): President Emeritus
Social
Event and Speaking Appearances
Using Guided Inquiry to Teach Anatomy and Physiology Core Concepts
HAPS Central Regional Meeting, Columbus Ohio October 2019
The NSF and HAPS CAPER Project: Research in Community College A&P Classrooms
HAPS Annual Conference May, 2019
Community College Anatomy and Physiology Research
HAPS Annual Conference May 2019
Does Cooperativity in Groups Enhance Metacognition and Self-Efficacy Among Students in Anatomy and Physiology Class that Lead to Less Anxiety and Better Performance on Tests?
HAPS Annual Conference May 2019
Observations from a 20 Year Involvement in Perfusion Education
Wisconsin Perfusion Society Annual Meeting Madison, WI. April 2019
Research Grants
Refinement and Expansion of the Community College Anatomy and Physiology Education Research Program
National Science Foundation
2021-07-01
Effective implementation of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs), such as group work and peer instruction, can improve student success in STEM education. Despite long-standing calls for widespread EBIP adoption, change has been slow. One of the identified barriers to EBIP use is the need for scaffolded support and adequate professional development resources. These are especially relevant to encouraging change in the CC context.To address these challenges, the Refinement and Expansion of the Community College Anatomy and Physiology Education Research (RE-CAPER) program engages CC instructors in structured professional development to promote EBIP use. This project builds on the success of the NSF-funded level 1 CAPER project (NSF award 1829157) in which 12 CC instructors designed, executed, and disseminated the results of a 1-year educational research project evaluating the use of EBIPs in their classrooms. Based on findings that this original intervention promoted instructors’ capacity to use EBIPs.
Improving Technology Used in Health Science Courses
Alvin and Marion Beirnschein Foundation
2002
Selected Publications
Community College Anatomy and Physiology Education Research (CAPER) Program: Promoting Change in Classroom Pedagogy to Benefit Students
The HAPS BlogGerrits, R.
2019
Active learning is not a new concept within HAPS. Annual conference poster and workshop sessions are chock-full of ideas on how to incorporate more student-centered techniques and personal storiesof faculty experiences with various methods. Nearly all of us likely have active learning terms in our lexicon and the majority of HAPS members would agree we should use such techniques (if not, please see the meta-study by Freeman et al. [1]). Yet an awareness of active learning and its benefit by itself does not necessarily drive change in our classroom practice. The more change is required, especially when that change is associated with significant effort, possibly even a seismic shift from our past teaching routines, the less likely we are to rush out and try it. And if an instructor is really motivated to find out what most benefits their specific population of students, the thought of developing an actual pedagogical study can seem utterly overwhelming. This is where peer-mentoring and a set timeline can really help. The Community College Anatomy and Physiology Education Research (CAPER) Program is designed to provide the needed support for participating community college instructors.
Short-Term Cardiovascular Control
HAPS EducatorGerrits R.
2017
Core Concepts in Anatomy and Physiology: A Paradigm Shift in Course and Curriculum Design
HAPS EducatorHull, K., Jensen, M., Gerrits, R., Ross, K.T.
2017
This book offers physiology teachers a new approach to teaching their subject that will lead to increased student understanding and retention of the most important ideas. By integrating the core concepts of physiology into individual courses and across the entire curriculum, it provides students with tools that will help them learn more easily and fully understand the physiology content they are asked to learn. The authors present examples of how the core concepts can be used to teach individual topics, design learning resources, assess student understanding, and structure a physiology curriculum.
Using AI to Understand Key Success Features in Evolving CTSAs
Clinical and Translational ScienceKusch, J.D., Nelson, D.A., Simpson, D., Gerrits, R., Glass, L.
2013
A vital role for Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) evaluators is to first identify and then articulate the necessary change processes that support the research infrastructures and achieve synergies needed to improve health through research. The use of qualitative evaluation strategies to compliment quantitative tracking measures (e.g., number of grants/publications) is an essential but under‐utilized approach in CTSA evaluations. The Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin implemented a qualitative evaluation approach using appreciative inquiry (AI) that has revealed three critical features associated with CTSA infrastructure transformation success: developing open communication, creating opportunities for proactive collaboration, and ongoing attainment of milestones at the key function group level. These findings are consistent with Bolman & Deal's four interacting hallmarks of successful organizations: structural (infrastructure), political (power distribution; organizational politics), human resource (facilitating change among humans necessary for continued success), and symbolic (visions and aspirations). Data gathered through this longitudinal AI approach illuminates how these change features progress over time as CTSA funded organizations successfully create the multiinstitutional infrastructures to connect laboratory discoveries with the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.
