In an engaging and readable tone, Farber explores key research about games and SEL. Teachers, game designers, and experts from CASEL, the Fred Rogers Center, Greater Good in Education, iThrive Games, Minecraft Education, UNESCO MGIEP, Harvard's EASEL Lab, and more share advice.
Expert educators are leveraging games in their classrooms to foster student agency and teach essential twenty-first century skills such as empathy, systems thinking, and design thinking. Matthew Farber's work showcases a group of K12 educators, known as "The Tribe," who excel in game-based learning. These transformational leaders operate within communities of practice, mentoring newcomers and advising game developers, academics, and policymakers. Members of "The Tribe" collaborate, share resources, and support one another, creating a rich environment for professional growth. Farber explores their social practices and provides insights into how expert game-based learning teachers implement games in their classrooms, from game rollout to assessing learning outcomes. The book highlights effective strategies and best practices, illustrating how games serve as a central element of instruction, facilitating shared meaningful experiences for students. With a foreword by James Paul Gee, it discusses the promises and challenges of game-based learning in contemporary education. For those looking to innovate their classrooms with playful and engaging learning practices, this work offers valuable guidance.
A field guide on how to implement game-based learning and gamification techniques in everyday teaching. This edition contains interviews with more than 70 authorities in the field, including academics such as James Paul Gee, Kurt Squire, Mizuko (Mimi) Ito, Lee Sheldon, Jordan Shapiro, and Mary Flanagan. Provides new practical lesson plan ideas, ready-to-use games, and links for further research in each updated chapter.