About Camtree

Camtree, the Cambridge Teacher Research Exchange, is a new global platform for close-to-practice research in education.

Camtree recognises that collaborative teacher inquiry, supported by committed and enlightened leadership, can contribute to enhanced outcomes for learners; effective and enduring professional development for teachers; and wide-ranging school improvement. 
Teachers can, through inquiry, create close-to-practice knowledge and establish themselves as experts and agents of change in their classroom.  Collaborative approaches allow teachers to develop greater shared awareness of how the curriculum and their teaching are affecting their pupils’ learning, and what needs to be done to improve it.
Many teachers are already undertaking inquiry through courses, school improvement projects or continuing professional development. However, the valuable knowledge they produce is only rarely shared beyond their own workplaces and local networks.
Camtree will be the world’s first platform that helps teachers 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.

The Camtree 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 DEFI, the Digital Educational Futures Initiative, which in turn 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. 

A picture of Dr. Pete Dudley

Dr. Pete Dudley

Camtree CEO

Pete was a senior member of the National College for School Leadership’s Networked Learning Communities programme, he developed Research Lesson Study. 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.

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A picture of Prof. Sara Hennessy

Prof. Sara 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.

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A picture of Dr. Patrick Carmichael

Dr. Patrick Carmichael

Camtree Managing Director

Patrick has particular interests in the role of digital technologies in education systems. As Head of Evaluation at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies, and then as Professor of Educational Research at Liverpool John Moores University, he directed a number of projects that explored the potential of semantic web technologies to enhance teaching, learning and research. More recently, he was Professor of Education and Director of Research Development at the University of Bedfordshire.

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A picture of Dr. Alison Twiner

Dr. Alison Twiner

Camtree Research Associate

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.

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A picture of Maria McElroy

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.

The Camtree team are supported in their work by a development panel of teachers and researchers, and an international advisory group who provide strategic advice and direction.

Camtree Partners and Platform Providers

Camtree at Cambridge

Camtree is part of the Digital Education Futures Initiative at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.

Camtree also has a close relationship with the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education.

Dipont Education

Dipont Education is a Camtree founding partner.

In addition to establishing and managing schools with Chinese and international partners, Dipont also provides innovative curricular and co-curricular programmes.

Our Platform Providers

Our DSpace 7 digital library is hosted by Atmire, a certified DSpace provider responsible for many of the leading research repositories around the world.

Project onboarding and management is provided by Rocketlane.