Curriculum Vitae
Jeffry Philip Ricker, Ph. D.

Division of Social & Behavioral Sciences
Scottsdale Community College
jeff.ricker@sccmail.maricopa.edu

9000 East Chaparral Road
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
85256

SCC Office: SB-128
SCC Phone: (480) 423-6213
SCC FAX: (480) 423-6298

MCCCD Office: University & College Relations Office
MCCCD Phone: (480) 731-8036

Education
Degrees
Attained
Dissertation
& Theses
Academic
Positions
Courses
Taught
Publications
Professional
Presentations
Assessment
Instruments
Web
Sites
Awards &
Honors
Institutional
Service
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Jeffry Ricker, Ph.D.

My Students Speak
(quoted from: www.ratemyprofessors.com)

"MATERIAL IS ROUGH AND TESTS ARE HARD AS HELL. GET OUT!"
"Hard tests."
"This class is an easy A if you show up."
"As long as you do the reading it is an easy A."
"He's funny in his own ways."
"Good teacher who will also make somewhat amusing jokes.

      Advice to Potential Students:

        1. Expect the course to be both very easy ("This class is an easy A") and very hard ("TESTS ARE HARD AS HELL"). Although the law of noncontradiction would suggest that this is a logical impossibility (i.e., a claim cannot simultaneously be true and false; an event cannot simultaneously exist and not exist), apparently some former students would argue that logic is not all it's cracked up to be.
        2. If you want the course to be very easy, simply show up ("This class is an easy A if you show up."): it seems that mental osmosis (the net movement of knowledge from a point of higher concentration — e.g., the instructor's mind — to a point of lower concentration — e.g., the student's mind) will do the rest.
          But please keep in mind that this strategy is dangerous for the instructor: unless there is an effective method for quickly increasing the instructor's concentration of knowledge (CK) over the weekend or during semester breaks, his or her CK will, after a few semesters at most, equal that of the least knowledgeable student entering the classroom on the first day of classes. At that point, the instructor may need to revert to homeopathic instruction, the effectiveness of which remains to be demonstrated.
        3. If you would like to safeguard the instructor's CK but still want the course to be very easy, then simply do the readings ("As long as you do the reading[s,] it is an easy A"). This may, at first, seem to be an unreasonable request; but the cumulative and detrimental effects of mental osmosis on instructors' CK soon will result in the decline and fall of the American educational system. The only people celebrating this state of affairs will be our international economic competitors, and those who wish to destroy the spread of freedom and American-style democracy around the world.
        4. If you want to do neither #2 nor #3, then your best strategy probably is to "GET OUT!"
        5. Expect that I will break up the tedium a bit with a lame witticism now and again ("He's funny in his own ways"; he "make[s] somewhat amusing jokes"). You won't laugh, but at least you will realize that you probably should avoid getting too much education.

Education

1993-1994
University of Missouri—St. Louis

Postdoctoral Retraining Program: Clinical Psychology
Clinical Director: Jane Stake, Ph.D.

1980-1987
University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign

Doctorate Program: Cognitive & Behavioral Psychology
Area of Specialization: Behavior Genetics
Research Advisor: Jerry Hirsch, Ph.D.

1977-1980
University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign

Baccalaureate Program: Psychology

1975-1977
William Rainey Harper College (Palatine, IL)

Associate Program: Psychology

Degrees Attained

Degree Year Discipline
Institution
Ph.D.
1987
Psychology
University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign
A.M.
1984
Psychology
University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign
B.S.
1980
Psychology
University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign
A.A.
1977
Psychology
William Rainey Harper
College

Dissertation & Theses

1987
Doctoral Dissertation
:
Genetic and Evolutionary Analysis of
Drosophila melanogaster Divergently Selected for Geotaxis.

1984
Master's Thesis
:
Selection and Hybrid analysis of
Drosophila melanogaster for Differences in a Measure of Geotaxis.

1980
Undergraduate  Research Thesis:
Attempted Replication of Selection for Classical Conditioning in the Blow Fly, Phormia regina.

Academic Positions

2006-Present
Maricopa County Community College District

Years
Position
Academic Area
2006-Present
General Studies Faculty Representative
MCCCD Academic Affairs

1989-Present
Scottsdale Community College

Years
Position
Academic Area
2005-Present
Division Chair
Social/Behavioral Sciences
2002-2005
Department Chair
Behavioral Sciences
1999-Present
Professor
Psychology
1994-1999
Instructor
Psychology
1989-1993
Adjunct Faculty
Psychology

1993-1994
University of Missouri—St. Louis

Years
Position
Academic Area
1993-1994
Postdoctoral Student
Clinical Psychology
1994
Visiting Faculty
Psychology & Sociology

1990
Paradise Valley Community College

Year
Position
Academic Area
1990
Adjunct Faculty
Psychology

1987-1990
Arizona State University—Tempe

Years
Position
Academic Area
1987-1990
Research Associate
Zoology & Psychology
1989
Visiting Faculty
Zoology & Biology
1987
Visiting Faculty
Zoology

Courses Taught

General Psychology
Biology & Biological Psychology
Abnormal Psychology
Behavior-Genetic Analysis (TA)
Developmental Psychology
Comparative Psychology (TA)
Introduction to Psychology
Human Genetics
Personality Psychology
Introduction to Biology (Genetics)
Psychology of Gender Differences
Research Methods
Social Psychology

Publications

Ricker, J. P. (2006). An introduction to psychology: The science of mind and behavior.

Ricker, J. P. (2004). Critical thinking lessons for Weiten's, Psychology: Themes & Variations (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Ricker, J. P. (2003). Critical thinking lessons for Weiten's & Lloyd's, Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Ricker, J. P. (2002). An introduction to the science of psychology. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.

Markow, T. A., & Ricker, J. P. (1992). Male size, developmental stability, and mating success in natural populations of three Drosophila species. Heredity, 69, 122-127.

Markow, T. A., & Ricker, J. P. (1991). Developmental stability in hybrids between the sibling species pair, Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans. Genetica, 84, 115-121.

Ricker, J., Boring, R., Harris, A., & Markow, T. (1989). Fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetry and its association with positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 11, xxx.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1988). Reversal of genetic homeostasis in laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster under long-term selection for geotaxis and estimates of gene correlates: Evolution of behavior-genetic systems. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 102, 203-214.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1988). Genetic changes occurring over 500 generations in lines of Drosophila melanogaster selected divergently for geotaxis. Behavior Genetics, 18, 13-25.

Ricker, J. P., Skoog, L. A., & Hirsch, J. (1987). Domestication and the behavior-genetic analysis of captive populations. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 18, 91-103.

Ricker, J. P., Brzorad, J. N., & Hirsch, J. (1986). A demonstration of discriminative conditioning in the blow fly, Phormia regina. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 24, 240-243.

Ricker, J. P., Hirsch, J., Holliday, M. J., & Vargo, M. A. (1986). An examination of claims for classical conditioning for use in the genetic analysis of Diptera. In J. L. Fuller & E. C. Simmel (Eds.), Perspectives in Behavior Genetics (pp. 155-200). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1985). Evolution of an instinct under long-term divergent selection for geotaxis in domesticated populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 99, 380-390.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1985). Long-term selection of Drosophila melanogaster for geotaxis: Evolution of the genetic system [Abstract]. Behavior Genetics, 15, 607.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1985). Evolutionary changes in laboratory populations selected for geotaxis. Drosophila Information Service, 61, 141-142.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1984). Divergent selection for geotaxis spanning 550 generations and genetic analysis in Drosophila melanogaster [Abstract]. Behavior Genetics, 14, 612.

Hirsch, J., Holliday, M., & Ricker, J. (1984, November). Conditioning flies and experimental control of both heredity and environment? Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society. San Antonio TX. (Abstract)

Professional Presentations

Ricker, J. P. (2004, July). Teaching and assessing critical thinking in abnormal psychology. In J. P. Ricker & N. J. Melucci (Chairs), Teaching and Assessing Critical Thinking in Psychology. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.

Ricker, J. P. (2001, August). Teaching critical thinking in abnormal psychology. In N. J. Melucci (Chair), Teaching Critical Thinking to Students Across the Psychology Curriculum. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.

Ricker, J. P. (Chair). (2000, April). Teaching students to critically examine popular beliefs concerning mind and behavior. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association, Tucson, AZ.

Ricker, J. P., & Boring, R. H., Harris, A., & Markow, T. A. (1989, April). Fluctuating dermatoglyphic asymmetry and its association with positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Poster session presented at the meeting of the International Congress of Schizophrenia Research, San Diego, CA.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1985, Month). Long-term selection of Drosophila melanogaster for geotaxis: Evolution of the genetic system. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association, College Park, PA.

Ricker, J. P., & Hirsch, J. (1984, Month). Behavior-genetic analysis of lines of Drosophila melanogaster divergently selected over 550 generations for geotaxis. Paper presented at the Midwest meeting of the Animal Behaviour Society, Carbondale, IL.

Assessment Instruments

Ricker, J. P. (unpublished). Scottsdale Test of Critical Thinking.

This is a 25-item multiple-choice test designed to measure critical-thinking skills in students taking lower-division college courses. For information, contact jeff.ricker@sccmail.maricopa.edu

Ricker, J. P. (unpublished). Scale of Belief Formation and Evaluation.

A 20-item questionnaire designed to measure the degree of skeptical thinking in students taking lower-division college courses. For information, contact jeff.ricker@sccmail.maricopa.edu

Web Sites

Psychologists Educating Students to Think Skeptically (PESTS)
http://www.scottsdalecc.edu/ricker/pests/

The PESTS web site is meant to be a resource for psychology instructors with an interest in teaching critical thinking and a skeptical approach to testing knowledge claims. It contains instruction for subscribing to the PESTS Listserve, which is a scholarly distribution list devoted to an active discussion of effective ways of teaching students to critically examine knowledge claims involving mind and behavior.

Introduction to Psychology (PSY 101)
http://www.scottsdalecc.edu/ricker/psy101/

This web site contains information needed to take Dr. Jeffry Ricker's course in general psychology at Scottsdale Community College. It contains the course textbook: An Introduction to Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior.

SCC Critical Thinking Subcommittee:
Teaching & Learning About Critical Thinking
http://www.scottsdalecc.edu/assessment/Critical%20Thinking/ct.htm

This web site contains information to facilitate teaching and learning about critical thinking across the curriculum.

Awards & Honors

2006
SCC Honors Program &
Psi Gamma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa

Faculty Recognition Award

1994
University of Missouri—St. Louis

Certificate of Recognition
Division of Student Affairs: Students With Disabilities

1991
The State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona

Lifetime Arizona Teaching Certificate (Regular A.1.a.)
No. 12416
Teaching Fields: Biology & Psychology

1980-1986
University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign

Fellowship, Insitutional Racism Program
NIMH Grant #MH 15173
Program Directors: James Anderson, Ph.D., & Jerry Hirsch, Ph.D.

Significant Institutional Service

Scottsdale Community College

2005-Present

  • ChairpersonCritical Thinking Subcommittee of the SCC Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee
  • SB Division RepresentativeSCC Division Chairs Committee
  • SB Division RepresentativeSCC Curriculum Committee

2003-2006

  • Past-President (2005-2006)
    SCC Faculty Senate
  • President (2004-2005)
    SCC Faculty Senate
  • President-Elect (2003-2004)
    SCC Faculty Senate

2002-2005

Behavioral Sciences RepresentativeSCC Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee

2001-Present

  • SB Division Representative—Critical Thinking Subcommittee of the SCC Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee

1995-2003

  • SB Division RepresentativeSCC Faculty Senate

Maricopa County Community College District

2007-Present

  • MCCCD RepresentativeASU General Education Task Force

2006-Present

  • MCCCD General Studies Faculty Representative
    This position includes serving on the following committees:
    • ASU-Tempe General Studies Council
    • ASU-Tempe Historical Awareness Subcommittee
    • ASU-West Senate Curriculum Committee
    • MCCCD District Curriculum Committee
    • MCCCD General Studies Steering Committee

2006

  • ChairpersonState of Arizona, Psychology Articulation Task Force
  • Faculty Executive Council RepresentativeMCCCD Common Pages Committee

2005

  • Faculty Executive Council Representative
    Baccalaureate Subcommittee
    of the MCCCD Financial Advisory Council
  • HostState of Arizona, Psychology Articulation Task Force

2004-2006

  • ChairpersonMCCCD Psychology Instructional Council
  • MCCCD Lead MemberState of Arizona, Psychology Articulation Task Force

2003-2006

  • SCC RepresentativeMCCCD Faculty Executive Council

2001-2003

  • ChairpersonMCCCD Psychology Instructional Council
  • MCCCD Lead MemberState of Arizona, Psychology Articulation Task Force

1999-2006

  • SCC RepresentativeMCCCD Psychology Instructional Council

This site was developed and is maintained by Jeffry Ricker.
Contact Person: Jeffry Ricker

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