Camille Ferguson

senior research associate

cferguson@edc.org

Camille Ferguson is a mixed-methods researcher at EDC. She conducts research and evaluation that contributes to knowledge about effective policies and programs aimed at educational equity, particularly for underrepresented adolescents living in urban settings. Specifically, her research interests include the socio-emotional context of learning, informal education settings, and STEM programming. Most of her current work is focused on evaluating computer science-related programming in both formal and informal education settings for students age three to young adult. A main focus of this work is to gain insight into how young people learn computer science and come to master computational skills, and what are the pedagogical strategies that best facilitate their learning. However, an additional layer of this work is aimed at the STEM identities and social capital that engender students’ sense of success and belonging in technology-related fields.

Currently, Camille works on several major projects at CCT. First, she is the project lead on the evaluation of Google Code Next. Through Code Next, Google hopes to cultivate a generation of African-American and Latino tech leaders by engaging youth from these communities in exploring the tech field, encouraging them to consider a career in tech, and helping them understand the path they have to follow to pursue a career in tech. Camille also is leading a component of the AHA! Island: Digital Media and Parent/Child Engagement Resources to Increase Preschool Computational Thinking project to gain insight into what parents need to support their children’s STEM learning. Finally, Camille is a working with Dr. Daniel Light and the Sesame foundation to implement an evaluation of Wash Up: Girl Talk in rural Zimbabwe. The purpose of the evaluation is to gain insight into whether educational materials provide by Sesame impact students’ knowledge and practices related to their development and hygiene.

Camille joined CCT in 2008, bringing over a decade of experience in education as a classroom science teacher, museum educator, and district administrator. In recent years, Camille took a break from full-time work to pursue her doctorate in Urban and Education Policy from Rutgers University, Newark. She is currently completing her dissertation, which focused on how adolescent stress is shaped by the confluence of urban distress and stressors related to school policy. Her research experience includes qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis in the context of both education and urban policy. Camille also has extensive experience in curriculum/program development and teacher professional development and training. Camille holds a Master of Urban Planning degree from Hunter College, and Bachelor of Science in Biology from Howard University.