We used a cluster-randomized controlled trial to examine the impacts of a technology- and game-based social-emotional program, the "Adventures Aboard the S.S. GRIN" ("Adventures"), on students' social skills development. Eighty-eight third-grade classrooms (N = 1645 third-grade students) across four California public school…

Background/Context: Poor social emotional learning (SEL) development places students at heightened risk for bullying, teasing, and social isolation (Asher, et al., 1996; Solberg, et al., 2007). As students experience social failure, school becomes an aversive place which they may actively try to avoid (Gazelle & Druhen, 2009; Ladd, 2006).…

This study sought to investigate whether there were performance differences between the children who engaged with the Ignite by Hatch™ educational gaming system using the English- or Spanish-language versions of the games. Differential item functioning methods (DIF) were employed to investigate these differences. Specifically, DIF analyses can…

Background/Context: Research has shown that students with strong social-emotional skills demonstrate greater motivation to learn, have more positive attitudes toward school, participate more actively in activities, and show better academic performance than students with social-emotional challenges (Gresham et al., 2020; Kostelnik et al. 2015).…

School closures because of natural phenomena, such as COVID-19, have emphasized the importance of effective distance learning strategies when there are no in-person alternatives. Although infrequently mentioned in discussions of student performance, social-emotional skill building came to the forefront of conversations due to the isolation and…

Early adolescence is a major time for friendship development, and interpersonal emotion regulation (iER) is a vital skill for social interactions. Serious games are an exciting way to engage young people with psychoeducational content. The authors developed a serious game teaching iER strategies to early adolescents in an interdisciplinary and…

Each game within the Ignite by Hatch™ gaming environment belongs to an overall developmental domain and skills-based subdomain and is intended to meet the developmental needs of children at specific skill levels. These skill levels (Beginning, Emerging, Intermediate, Accomplishing, and Proficient+) form an intended developmental pathway. Children…