Unconference Professional Development: Educator Perspectives on Edcamps

• In Event: Teachers as Designers for New Models of Professional Development

Abstract

Edcamps are a voluntary, democratic form of unconference that contrasts with many aspects of traditional professional development. This paper reports on survey data gathered from 769 Edcamp participants. Beforehand, these educators indicated diverse motivations for their attendance, including anticipation of what, how, and with whom they would learn. Afterwards, participants gave high ratings to their Edcamp experiences, and expressed interest in participating in future Edcamps. Qualitative comments suggested that the combination of how learning occurred and with whom appeared to be the salient strength of many participants’ experiences. However, most respondents also identified areas for improvement in the Edcamps they attended. In light of the data, the Edcamp model and its implications for other forms of teacher learning are discussed.

Authors

• Jeffrey Paul Carpenter, Elon University

• Jayme Nixon Linton, Lenoir-Rhyne University