Gaming SEL

“Matthew Farber's book gives the reader a compelling and nuanced tour of a very important subject—social and emotional learning and the role that games can play in supporting it. I would encourage anyone looking for a comprehensive and accessible introduction to this topic to read this book! I particularly appreciate Farber's broad knowledge of game design efforts in this area, as well as his grasp of related literature.”—Katherine Isbister, Professor of Computational Media, University of California, Santa Cruz; author of How Games Move Us: Emotion by Design
“Gaming SEL takes us into a fascinating and resourceful journey exploring the development of social and emotional skills (more specifically in children) and the ways in which games can support social and emotional learning (SEL). Matthew Farber summarizes the results of empirical research and gathers the expertise of dozens of academics, researchers, educators, and game designers to digest it all in a very approachable way for the reader. Using a multitude of examples from board games to video games, he also offers a compelling guide for harnessing the emotional and engaging power of games for SEL. This book is a must-read for teachers, parents, and anyone interested in understanding why and how games can foster a growth mindset, allow us to experiment with emotions and interpersonal relationships safely, and support our overall emotional well-being.”—Celia Hodent, PhD in psychology, game UX consultant; author of The Gamer’s Brain and The Psychology of Video Games