Why Camtree?
Camtree – the Cambridge Teacher Research Exchange – is a new global platform for close-to-practice research in education. Camtree recognises that collaborative inquiry, supported by committed and enlightened leadership, contributes to enhanced outcomes for learners; professional development for educators; and wide-ranging and enduring educational improvement.
Educators can, through inquiry, create knowledge and establish themselves as experts and agents of change. Collaborative approaches allow them to develop greater shared awareness of how the curriculum and their teaching are affecting learning, and what needs to be done to improve it.
Many educators are already undertaking inquiry through courses, school improvement projects or continuing professional development. However, the valuable knowledge they produce is only rarely published or shared beyond their own workplaces and local networks.
Camtree will be the world’s first platform that helps educators and educational leaders both to improve learning and share their knowledge. By developing a global community of active classroom practitioner-researchers and educational leaders, sharing their work, and learning from and with each other, it will promote improved outcomes in classrooms worldwide.
Camtree@Hughes Hall
Camtree is based at Hughes Hall, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. We also have close associations with the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education.
Camtree is part of the Bridge Initiative, established at Hughes Hall to bring the College’s multi-disciplinary perspective, international nature and external focus to bring the research and expertise of its academic community to solve real world problems.
Camtree iworks closely with the two other Bridge Centres with a focus on education: DEFI – the Digital Education Futures Initiative and Oracy Cambridge.
The Margaret Wileman Building, Hughes Hall
Our Values and Principles
Camtree’s work is underpinned by commitments to a coherent set of international declarations, conventions and frameworks.
Rights, Equality and Diversity
Camtree will promote, uphold and act in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Sustainable Development
Camtree is committed to support educational practices which seek to overcome global challenges and contribute to a sustainable future as set out in the Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action.
Research Integrity
Camtree is committed to the principles of research integrity set out in the World Conferences on Research Integrity ‘Singapore Statement’ (2010) and by the Committee on Publication Ethics.
Open Access
Camtree will publish works in the Camtree Digital Library under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 ‘Attribution’ licence to ensure their widest possible use, while ensuring that authorship is recognised.
Meet our Team
The Camtree team is based at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, and works closely with the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, as well as other partner organisations. Camtree is part of The Bridge, an initiative that facilitates interaction and connection between academic experts and policy-makers, practitioners and industry leaders in order to promote dialogue, understanding and innovation.
Dr. Pete Dudley
Camtree CEO
Pete was a senior member of the National College for School Leadership’s Networked Learning Communities programme. As National Director of the last UK Labour government’s National Strategies for Education he created WhatWorksWell, a forerunner of Camtree. He is a senior member of Hughes Hall and a Lecturer in Education Leadership at the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge and has been president of the World Association of Lesson Studies.
Prof. Sarah Hennessy
CamTREE DEPUTY CEO
Sara is Professor of Teacher Development and Pedagogical Innovation in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, a Research Director of the EdTech Hub, and co-leader of the interdisciplinary Cambridge Educational Dialogue Research (CEDiR) group. She has been researching in the area of educational technology use in classrooms for more than three decades and is an Editor of the British Journal of Educational Technology. She is a fellow of Hughes Hall.
Dr. Patrick Carmichael
CAMTREE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Patrick is Managing Director of Camtree. His work prior to joining Camtree has been concerned with the intersections between teacher learning and information systems, and he has directed a number of major projects that explored the potential of digital technologies to enhance teaching, learning and research. Prior to joining Camtree, he was Professor of Education and Director of Research Development at the University of Bedfordshire.
Dr. Alison Twiner
CAMTREE RESEARCHER
Alison is a Research Associate with the Camtree team, based at Hughes Hall. She has keen research and development interests in the educational use of various digital technologies; supporting effective communication in teaching and learning interactions; and supporting teachers’ developing pedagogy. Alison is a member of the Cambridge Educational Dialogue Research (CEDiR) group, and the associated TechCEDiR.
Dr. Ying Ji
CAMTREE RESEARCHER
Dr. Ying Ji holds a PhD from the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, with research interests in teacher professional development, learning, and dialogic education. She focuses on developing and evaluating materials to support teacher-led professional inquiry. Dr. Ji is also a member of the Professional Development Expert Group within the Cambridge Partnership for Education.
Maria McElroy
CAMTREE SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR
Maria’s career has involved a variety of roles in the education sector, most significantly as Schools Liaison Officer at the University of Waikato, and Queens’ College, Cambridge from 2010-2021. She completed her Masters degree in Education at the University of Cambridge in 2019. She is responsible for Camtree events management, project publicity, and communications and learning materials development.
