Areas of Expertise:

· General Chemistry Instruction

· Equitable teaching practices

Bio 

Rebecca completed a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Kent State University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2004. She obtained her Ph.D. in solid state inorganic chemistry under the guidance of Patrick Woodward at the Ohio State University in 2009. She was an NSF Materials Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Center for Emergent Materials at OSU from 2009 – 2011. She began teaching large enrollment general chemistry courses during this time, and upon completing her post-doc she continued teaching in some capacity with the department of chemistry & biochemistry as OSU.

Research Overview 

I am establishing my scholarly work in chemical education practices within both curriculum design and classroom practices. My interests are aligned with equitable teaching practices, culturally responsive teaching, and sense of belonging for all students.

I am beginning to find concentration in the math-chemistry overlap within the general chemistry curriculum. Literature currently suggests that there is a strong correlation between math preparedness and academic success in general chemistry. However, math background/placement can be a symptom of resource allocation and not indicative of academic ability. Recently I designed a new pathway to address the challenge of variable incoming chemistry and/or math knowledge is reimagining general chemistry through course design. Due to systemic factors that affect resource opportunities in the US, general chemistry students can have major differences in their incoming chemistry and math knowledge; this greatly influences which courses students can take in their first year of study. Students not meeting prerequisites could then be forced out of STEM fields, further perpetuating the exclusion of historically marginalized persons. The two new courses were designed such that students can start in foundations of general chemistry while concurrently completing the algebra math prerequisite. The traditional general chemistry 1 course was split into two semester-long foundations 1 & 2 courses (CHEM1206 and CHEM1208), and once both are completed the student continues to the traditional general chemistry 2 course (CHEM1220).

Teaching

 I have been involved in the design and implementation of CHEMs 1206 and 1208. I also teach the traditional general chemistry courses CHEM1210 and CHEM1220. I work to create, design, or adapt active learning activities and practices in the large-enrollment classroom spaces. In the past I have also taught CHEMs 1205, 1100, and 4550. I

Publications

1. Clark, T. M., Ricciardo, R. A., Weaver, T. “Transitioning from Expository Laboratory Experiments to Course-Based Undergraduate Research in General Chemistry” J. Chem Ed., 93 (1), 56-63 (2016)

2. Dey, S., Ricciardo, R. A., Cuthbert, H. L., Woodward, P. M. “Metal-to-metal charge transfer in AWO4 (A = Mg, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) tungstate salts with the wolframite structure.” Inorg. Chem. 53 (9), 4394 – 4399 (2014)

3. King, G. M., Ricciardo, R. A., Soliz, J. R., Woodward, P. M. Llobet, A. “Linking local structure and properties in perovskites containing equal concentrations of manganese and ruthenium” Phys. Rev. B 83, 1341231-1341239 (2011)

4. Hauser, A. J., Williams, R. E. A., Ricciardo, R. A., Genc, A., Dixit, M., Lucy, J. M., Woodward, P. M., Fraser, H. L., Yang, F. Y. “Unlocking the potential of half-metallic Sr2FeMoO6 films through controlled stoichiometry and double-perovskite ordering” Phys. Rev. B 83, 0144071-0144076 (2011)

5. Rutkowski, M., Hauser, A. J., Yang, F. Y., Ricciardo, R. A., Meyer, T., Woodward, P. M., Holcombe, A., Morris, P. A., Brillson, L. J. “X-ray photoemission spectroscopy of Sr2FeMoO6 film stoichiometry and valence state” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 28, 1240 – 1244 (2010)

6. Ricciardo, R. A., Woodward, P. M., Cuthbert, H. L., Zhou, Q., Kennedy, B. J., Zhang, Z., Avdeev, M., Jang, L.-Y. “Structure and properties of Sr1-xCaxMn0.5Ru0.5O3 perovskites: Using chemical pressure to control Mn/Ru mixed valency” Chem. Mater. 22, 3369 – 3382 (2010)

7. Ricciardo, R. A., Hauser, A. J., Yang, F. Y., Kim, H., Lu, W., Woodward P. M. “Structural, Magnetic, and Electronic Characterization of double perovskites BixLa2 xMnMO6 (M = Ni, Co; x = 0.25, 0.50)” Mater. Res. Bull. 44, 239 – 247 (2008)

8. Hauser, A. J., Zhang, J., Mier, L., Ricciardo, R. A., Woodward, P. M., Gustafson, T. L., Brillson, L. J., Yang, F. Y. “Characterization of electronic structure and defect states of thin epitaxial BiFeO3 films by UV-visible absorption and cathodoluminescence spectroscopies” Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 222901 (2008)

9. P. M. Woodward, J. Goldberger, M. W. Stoltzfus, H. W. Eng, R. A. Ricciardo, P. N. Santhosh, P. Karen, A. R. Moodenbaugh. “Electronic, magnetic, and structural properties of Sr2MnRuO6 and LaSrMnRuO6 double perovskites” J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 91, 1796 – 1806 (2008)