Games+Learning+Society 10 Conference

Discussant:  Kurt Squire

Compassion as a Learnable Skill
Richie Davidson
Compassion meditation produces changes in brain function that promote well-being, foster certain forms of positive affect and virtuous dispositions and impact physical health and illness.  Through research with both long-term practitioners and novices studied longitudinally, this talk will illustrate some of key findings and challenges in the nascent field of contemplative neuroscience and will also showcase a major research project on the impact of games developed to cultivate mindfulness and compassion on the brain and behavior. 

Social Emotional Learning: Scaling Impact
Jessica Berlinski
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is comprised of two key facets: skill building and creating safe, supportive climates where these skills can thrive.   Whether in school or at home, effective SEL teaching requires that teachers and parents role model their own management of emotions, empathy, attentive listening and respectful communication to create these safe climates.  Berlinski will share how can we leverage technology – particularly games – to build both key facets of SEL.  She will also discuss the broader socio-culture ecosystem and how we must engage all sectors and stakeholders to create the needed cultural shift to make 21st skills like perseverance, collaboration and empathy educational priorities.