In this episode, Dan and Michael chat with edcamp co-founder and executive director Hadley Ferguson and researcher Jeff Carpenter about edcamp unconferences.

Books, Articles and Other Amazing Resources

1. Edcamp Foundation website: https://www.edcamp.org/
2. Carpenter, J. P., & Linton, J. N. (2016). Edcamp unconferences: Educators’ perspectives on an untraditional professional learning experience. Teaching and Teacher Education, 57, 97-108.

Biographies

Hadley Ferguson is a founding member of the Edcamp movement, which began in Philadelphia in 2009 with the first conference–Edcamp Philly. Since its inception in 2014, Hadley has been charged with driving and implementing the Edcamp Foundation’s vision and strategic plan, and oversees all operations from its headquarters outside of Philadelphia. From 2010 to 2014 Hadley was intimately involved in the organization and execution of many Edcamps in the Philadelphia area, and was integral in mobilizing EdcampIS (Independent Schools) and Edcamp Online (the first Edcamp to be hosted completely online from MIT’s Media Lab). Prior to her role as Executive Director, Hadley spent 14 years as a middle school Humanities and History teacher in an independent school in the Philadelphia suburbs where she served on and chaired many supervisory committees including New Faculty Mentoring, Mission Alignment, Supplemental Programs and Professional Development. Hadley, who homeschooled her four children until 8th grade, holds a BA and a MEd from Smith College and is married to her husband of 40 years. When she’s not driving ways to improve professional learning for educators, she can be found in her garden.

Jeffrey P. Carpenter, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Teaching Fellows Program at Elon University in North Carolina. He taught secondary English and ESOL in the U.S. and abroad for 10 years before transitioning into teacher education. His research interests include collaborative learning, social media, and 21st-century teaching and learning. His research has been published in outlets such as Teaching and Teacher Education, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, and Professional Development in Education. He can be found on Twitter @jeffpcarpenter or via e-mail at jcarpenter13@elon.edu.