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AJ Kelton

Director, CHSS Digital Media CoLab, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Email:
keltona@montclair.edu
Phone:
973-655-5507
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Profile

Dr. AJ Kelton is the Director of the Digital Media CoLab in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

He is involved in collaborative learning, reflective teaching, academic and emerging technology, digital humanities, social media, games, and virtual worlds for education and has presented on many topics both in the U.S. and internationally. He is the Founder and a current Board Member of Emerging Learning Design (ELD) and Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Emerging Learning Design Journal.

Dr. Kelton received his PhD from NYU in 2018 and his research and interest areas include the impact of group formation and composition on learning, affordances of virtual worlds in education, and the impact of digital media skills on learning acquisition and career development.

Specialization

Limited research has indicated a correlation between instructor choice regarding group design and an increase in success of the group (Dennen & Hoadley, 2013, Webb 2009). Learning and developing good group work skills also applies to the work force (Linn & Burbules, 1993), as the ability to work in a group continues to be one of the top skills employers expect from new hires (Carnevale, 1990).

Although some research indicates that group creation can make a positive difference in learning (Scribner & Donaldson, 2001; Stahl, Koschman, & Suthers, 2006), there is little attention paid to defining the primary types of group creation as well as when it is best to use one type over another.

My research interest during my Master's work focused on the issue of culture, with respect to the Digital Divide, and how, because of this, access to technology impacts writing, specifically those classified as "basic writers". Here you will find a link to my Master's thesis "Culture, Access, Technology, and the Basic Writer".




Carnevale, A. P. (1990). Workplace Basics Training Manual. ASTD Best Practices Series: Training for a Changing Work Force. Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Dennen, V.P., & Hoadley, C. (2013). Designing Collaborative Learning Through Computer Support. In The International Handbook on Collaborative Learning. C.E. Hmelo-Silver (Ed). New York, NY: Routledge.

Linn, M. C., & Burbules, N. C. (1993). Construction of knowledge and group learning. The practice of constructivism in science education, 91-119.

Scribner, J. P., & Donaldson, J. F. (2001). The Dynamics of Group Learning in a Cohort: From Nonlearning to Transformative Learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(5), 605 -636. doi:10.1177/00131610121969442

Stahl, G., Koschmann, T., & Suthers, D. (2006). Computer-supported collaborative learning: A historical perspective. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (pp. 406e427). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Webb, N. M. (2009). The teacher's role in promoting collaborative dialogue in the classroom. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 79(1), 1-28.

Resume/CV

Office Hours

Fall

Monday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Tuesday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Wednesday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Thursday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Friday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Spring

Monday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Tuesday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Wednesday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Thursday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Friday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Summer

Monday
8:00 am - 5:30 pm
Tuesday
8:00 am - 5:30 pm
Wednesday
8:00 am - 5:30 pm
Thursday
8:00 am - 5:30 pm

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