An Alternative Learning Space: The Case of Mancala Board Game Players

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Meaning Making and Perspective Taking in Learning Environments

Abstract

Increasingly, researchers report that games are alternative learning environments that are worth exploring (Gee, 2013). Though this claim in the literature is mainly supported by video games research, the current study investigated a board game known as Mancala to identify the learning that happens during gameplay. Using semi-structured interviews, the results indicate that Mancala is a space where players acquire social, mathematical, and strategic thinking skills. These findings show that playing Mancala also involves learning.

Author

• Rebecca Yvonne Bayeck, The Pennsylvania State University