Michael Scott

My research looks at the role explicit reflection has on students learning physics. The differences between experts and novices has been well documented. My focus is how reflection can help facilitate the transformation of a novice to a more expert-like state.

I am also interested in how Adobe Flash can be used to help students learn physics online. Here is a Flash “simulation” (for lack of a better word) that I am developing that deals with the concept of relative motion.

Additionaly, I am the designer of our group's website.

Education:
Ph.D. in Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008
M.S. in Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002
B.S. in Physics and Mathematics, University of Indianapolis, 2000

Awards:

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Physics Excellence in Teaching Award (Fall 2000, Spring 2001, Summer 2001, Fall 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Spring 2005, Fall 2005, Spring 2006, Fall 2006).
• AAPT Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (2003).
• Scott Anderson Award recognizing outstanding physics teaching assistants within the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (Fall 2002).
• Eugene C. Eads Award for Excellence in Physics given by the Department of Physics and Earth-Space Sciences, University of Indianapolis (1999).

Publications:

• M. Scott, T. Stelzer, and G. Gladding, “Explicit Reflection in an Introductory Physics Course,” Physics Education Research Conference, AIP Conference Proceedings, (2007)
• M. Scott, T. Stelzer, and G. Gladding, “Evaluating Multiple-choice Exams in Large Introductory Physics Courses,” Physical Review Special Topcics - Physics Education Research 2, 020102 (2006)

Contributed Talks:

• Explicit Reflection in Introductory Physics, AAPT Meeting, Greensboro, NC, July 2007 (Abstract)
• Correlating Student Use of Follow-up Questions with Course Performance, AAPT Meeting, Sacramento, CA, August 2004 (Abstract)
• Evaluating Multiple-Choice Exams in Large Introductory Physics Courses, ISAAPT Spring Meeting, Urbana, IL, April 2004 (Abstract)
• The Reliability and Validity of Multiple-Choice Exams in Large Introductory Courses, AAPT Meeting, Madison, WI, August 2003 (Abstract)

CV

Here is a short derivative tutorial that I wrote for a preparatory physics course I taught: (HTML or Power Point XP)

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