Teachers' perceptions of Edcamp professional development: A Q method study

Abstract

This study described the subjective opinions of teachers about their experiences at Edcamp, an unconference-style form of teacher professional development (PD). Traditional PD has been maligned for being overly expensive and ineffectual in affecting changes in teacher practice. In order to defend teachers' decisions to partake in Edcampstyle PD, it was necessary to identify their views about their experiences. Q methodology was used to determine the teachers' perspectives. A review of relevant literature in teacher PD, professional learning communities, communities of practice, and social media was undertaken, as well as a demographic survey of Edcamp participants, to better understand the phenomenon of Edcamp. The result of the literature review and demographic survey was a set of 36 statements that was sorted by 19 teachers. A three factor solution was the result of analysis using PQMethod software. Themes for the resulting factors were augmented using interviews from exemplar sorters in each factor as well as Twitter data from the day of the Edcamp event. The three factors were interpreted as Tweeting Edcampers, who highly valued the opportunity for social learning and sharing via Twitter at Edcamp, One-Time Edcampers, who preferred traditional PD and did not find Edcamp PD to be considerably helpful, and Edcamp Converts, who found Edcamp PD to be transformative and relevant to the contexts of their classrooms. All participants indicated a strong preference for continual, meaningful PD. Conclusions included the importance of giving teachers choices in PD opportunities, teachers' preferences for participating in informal learning opportunities, and the considerable meaning teachers attribute to the social media application Twitter for learning and sharing. Future research should study administrators' opinions of Edcamp-style PD and its relevance to their teachers. The conclusions indicate that future research should study administrators' opinions of Edcamp-style PD and its relevance to their teachers. The conclusions did not address the long-term effects of Edcamp-style PD and Twitter use on teachers' professional practices, which appears to be a necessary next step in research.