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Victor Ricchezza
Clarkston
Life & Earth Sciences
Georgia State University
I am an Assistant Professor of Geology at Perimeter College of Georgia State University, working on the Clarkston and online campuses. I teach introductory classes in physical and historical geology, and associated laboratories, primarily for general education/non-major audiences. I also teach environmental science/lab as needed. As fits my schedule and options, I attempt to integrate quantitative literacy into my teaching, as I feel QL is integral to scientific literacy and responsible citizenship. I've worked at PC-GSU since fall 2020, after working as an adjunct instructor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, teaching Computational Geology, Earth Science, and Environmental Science.
I completed a PhD at USF in 2019 working with Dr. H.L. (Len) Vacher and Dr. Jeffrey Ryan in Geoscience Education and Quantitative Literacy. Prior to starting graduate school in Fall 2014, I was a Georgia high school earth science teacher and content developer for five years and a field environmental geologist for nine years. I earned my BA in Geologic Sciences from the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1999 and my MS in Geology from USF in 2016.
My research largely focuses on how successful undergraduate geology education is at preparing graduates with the quantitative skills and habits of mind they need after graduation. I have had the good fortune to be involved with the unique course in computational geology (in short, it's largely about a variety of word problems in a geological context) and hope to spread this course, because I believe in what it can help students achieve.
Personal website: https://weebly.com/vicricchezza/
Website Content Contributions
Activities (2)
GEOLOGIC TIME: PRINCIPLES & APPLICATIONS part of Guided Inquiry Introductory Geology Labs:Activities
Average inquiry level: Structured This inquiry-based lab about the principles of relative and numerical dating allows students to apply reason and logic to determine the order of geologic events, to experimentally ...
Slide Rules and Log Scales as a Primer for Reading Graphs part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2017:Program:Teaching Demonstrations:Friday B
The participants will be given a short primer on the workings of a slide rule. Participants will use 3D-printed logarithmic slide rules made at USF and work in small groups to perform a few calculations ranging ...
Essay (1)
Overcoming Math Anxiety to Achieve Quantitative Literacy for Professional Success part of Project EDDIE:News & Events:EDDIE Workshops:Workshop: Teaching Quantitative Reasoning with Data:Essays
Victor Ricchezza, School of Geosciences, University of South Florida Quantitative literacy (QL) used in the sensu lato can be thought of as an umbrella term encompassing quantitative reasoning, numeracy, and ...
Conference Presentations (4)
Scientist of the Week: Measuring the effects of diverse representation in STEM classrooms part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2020:Program:Oral Sessions:Oral Session III
Seeing scientists who share similar backgrounds and identities (e.g., culture, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, veteran status, etc.) is vital for giving students an avenue to visualize ...
Other Contributions (3)
On a Desert Island with Unit Sticks, Continued Fractions and Lagrange part of Project EDDIE:News & Events:EDDIE Workshops:Workshop: Teaching Quantitative Reasoning with Data:Teaching Activities
This lab style activity has students measure the length of an object (generally a tabletop) using an unmarked stick (a disposable chopstick being the most common choice). Students use the single stick as a ...
Jumping the Career Shark to GER part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2016:Program:Morning Workshops:GER:Idea Papers
Vic Ricchezza, University of South Florida I graduated with my geology BA in 1999. I followed this with a nine year career as an environmental consultant. What started as a need for a job eventually turned into an ...
Research on Cognitive Domain in Geoscience Learning: Quantitative Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Use of Models part of NAGT:Our Work:Geoscience Education Research:Community Framework for GER:Cognitive - Problem Solving, Quantitative Reasoning, Models
Download a pdf of this chapterKim A. Kastens, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Ashlee Dere, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Deana Pennington, The University of Texas at El Paso; and Vic Ricchezza, University of ...
Communities
Southeastern Section, Geo2YC: The Two-Year College Division, Geoscience Education Research Division
July 2020 Earth Educators Rendezvous 2017
July 2017 Earth Educators Rendezvous 2016
July 2016 Integrate/GETSI 2023 Survey
GETSI Community
NAGT All
Carbon, Climate, and Energy Resources Interest Group
GETSI Interest Group