Two years ago, when I studied at high school in Ontario, I faced a learning challenge: understanding Shakespeare’s Hamlet. At first, I was intimidated by the dense language and complex themes. I had no idea how I could approach Shakespeare’s works properly. The challenge can be seen from a behaviourist’s view. That means I needed to understand the stimuli and responses involved in learning the play. The language used in the play was archaic and difficult for me to understand, making it a challenging stimulus. I remember approaching the learning task by breaking it down into smaller, manageable pieces. Also, I set specific goals for myself, like reading a certain number of pages each day and taking detailed notes on the characters and plot.

However, putting on a thinking hat of a cognitivist, I realized that my prior knowledge and experience could help me understand the play better. I started by researching the play’s historical context and understanding the characters’ backgrounds. This step helped me build a schema, or mental framework, for understanding the events and relationships in the play. Moreover, I read the play translated into my first language, which also eased the learning process.

But, thinking along a constructivist mental set, I also reflected that authentic learning occurs when a person actively constructs their understanding. So, I decided to create my summarization of the play and its themes. This process helped me internalize the information and make it more meaningful to me.

These learning experiences are essential; however, those are not the whole story. I also worked with my classmates to act out scenes from the play. This move made the learning experience more interactive and fun and helped me understand the play from different perspectives.

At the end of the semester, I successfully understood and appreciated Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and overcame my learning challenge. It seems to me by combining behaviourist, cognitivist, and constructivist learning strategies,I was able to build a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the play.

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