About Scott
Scott Newson is an innovative, empathetic, and passionate educator with over 15 years of experience teaching, supporting, and inspiring young people across the UK state, grammar, and independent school sectors. A Geography subject specialist teaching ages 9-18, Scott has held a range of roles including Head of Geography, Head of Year, and Enrichment and Scholarship Coordinator, and is currently working at an international school in Norway.
Alongside his teaching, Scott is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education. His research focuses on how insights from neuroscience and complex thinking can enhance our understanding of learning and support the development of curiosity, collaboration, and higher-order thinking in the secondary classroom. He is particularly interested in how these ideas can be applied to foster enquiry-based, skills-rich learning in Geography and the wider Humanities.
Scott also has extensive experience delivering CPD, particularly around differentiated, enquiry-based approaches and how an understanding of cognitive processes can be used to strengthen classroom practice. His academic background includes an MSc in Environmental Social Science and a PGCE in Geography, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Chartered Geographer.
Support is offered for the following Key Stages:
Key Stages 3-5.
What can Scott offer to schools?
Key themes, topics, and specific workshops that Scott can offer to schools:
Theme 1: Enhancing teaching and learning through cognitive science and complex thinking
Within this area there are two possible workshops/sessions that can be offered:
1) Beyond Bloom's: Fostering higher-order thinking and curiosity in the classroom
Focus: Practical strategies drawn from cognitive science and complex thinking frameworks to move beyond surface-level learning. This session equips teachers with techniques to deepen curiosity, develop critical thinking, and strengthen students鈥� problem-solving and reasoning skills.
Topics covered:
- The role of curiosity in learning
- Scaffolding complex thinking in the classroom
- Collaborative learning strategies
- Practical activities to promote higher-order cognitive skills
2) Differentiated instruction for diverse learners: Meeting every student鈥檚 needs
Focus: Actionable strategies for effective differentiation across a range of student needs and abilities. This workshop supports teachers in adapting their planning, instruction, and assessment to create inclusive, responsive classrooms.
Topics covered:
- Formative assessment for differentiation
- Tiered assignments and flexible grouping
- Practical differentiation strategies across subjects
- Adapting enquiry-based tasks for varied ability levels
Theme 2: Mastering enquiry-based learning (EBL) in geography and the humanities
Within this area there are two possible workshops/sessions that can be offered:
1) Designing dynamic enquiry-based learning in geography
Focus: A practical and inspiring guide to designing and delivering effective enquiry-based units in secondary geography. This workshop explores how to build meaningful sequences that support deep thinking, independent investigation, and skills development.
Topics covered:
- Crafting compelling geographical enquiry questions
- Structuring enquiry cycles for different key stages
- Facilitating student-led investigations
- Using real-world case studies and data for geographical enquiry
- Assessing enquiry-based outcomes
2) Skills-rich humanities: Cultivating critical thinkers through enquiry
Focus: Applying the principles of EBL across Geography, with an emphasis on developing transferable skills such as critical thinking, research, communication, and ethical reasoning.
Topics Covered:
- Integrating historical thinking and geographical analysis
- Embedding source evaluation and argument-building
- Designing interdisciplinary enquiry questions
- Supporting collaboration and discussion in Humanities classrooms
Format of sessions
As Scott is based internationally, he is currently only able to offer online sessions.
Pricing
Scott is happy to offer both volunteer and paid sessions, depending on the context and the needs of the school. Please outline your needs with Scott and pricing will be discussed once Scott is aware of your requirements.
Other consultancy services offered by Scott
Scott also offers resource writing and authoring. He has written journal articles and educational materials, and is particularly interested in creating high-quality, research-informed content for classroom use, CPD, or wider educational projects.
How to contact Scott
To contact Scott, please email Claire Brown at the 91茄子 c.brown@rgs.org, and your email will be forwarded to Scott.
You can also contact Scott via
