Public Lecture - What we've learned from teaching people in prison to Think Like A Scientist

Dr Phil Heron is speaking at The Geological Society on Tuesday 15 December, with his talk What we've learned from teaching people in prison to Think Like A Scientist running from 18:00 to 19:00. It's a hybrid event, so you can catch it in person at Burlington House on Piccadilly or join from home via Zoom.

The talk is built around Think Like A Scientist, an outreach programme Heron runs to get education to marginalised groups. It started in England back in 2017 and has since moved into prisons across the world, including Canada, Australia, Finland and Spain. The course was designed to sharpen critical thinking and encourage independent thought by bringing adaptive, inclusive education practices into the classroom. There's a particular focus on neurodivergent learners, including people with autism, ADHD, OCD and dyslexia, so the approach is built around how different people actually learn rather than a one-size-fits-all model.

Heron himself has a background that spans academia and government. He studied at Leeds University and earned a PhD in Geophysics from the University of Toronto, then worked as a Marie Skłodowska Curie Research Fellow at Durham University and as an Operational Researcher for the UK Government before returning to academia in 2021. He's currently an Assistant Professor in Environmental Geophysics at the University of Toronto.

The lecture is part of The Geological Society of London's Public Lecture programme, which runs about once a month and is open to everyone. It's free to attend, and if you're going in person, guests arrive between 17:30 and 18:00, with a drinks reception from 19:00 to 20:00 after the talk finishes.