Dale's Cone of Experience

Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience

1. EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY 1 The Cone of Experience

2. “The Cone is a visual analogy, and like all analogies, it does not bear an exact and detailed relationship to the complex elements it represents.” -Edgar Dale

3. What is the Cone of Experience? What are the sensory aids in the Cone of Experience? What are its implication in teaching?

4. First introduced in Dale’s 1946 book, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching. Designed to “show the progression of learning experiences” (Dale (1969) p. 108) from the concrete to the abstract The Cone of Experience

5. Concrete Abstract EARTH

6. Direct and Purposeful Experience Direct, First hand Experience Have a direct participation in the outcome Use of all our senses

7. Contrived Experience Models and mock-ups “editing of reality” Necessary when real experience cannot be used or are too complicated

8. Dramatized Experience Reconstructed experiences Can be used to simplify an event or idea to its most important parts Divided into two categories Acting – actual participation (more concrete) Observing – watching a dramatization take place (more abstract)

9. Demonstration Visualized explanation of an important fact, idea, or process Shows how certain things are done

10. Watch people do things in real situations Observe an event that is unavailable in the classroom Field Trips

11. Something seen by a spectator Two types Ready made Home-made Exhibits

12. Bring immediate interaction with events from around the world Edit an event to create clearer understanding than if experienced actual event first hand Can omit unnecessary or unimportant material Used to slow down a fast process Viewing, seeing and hearing experience Can re-create events with simplistic drama that even slower students can grasp Educational Television and Motion Pictures Television Motion Picture

13. Recordings, Radio and Still Pictures Can often be understood by those who cannot read Helpful to students who cannot deal with the motion or pace of a real event or television

14. Visual Symbols No longer involves reproducing real situations Chalkboard and overhead projector the most widely used media Help students see an idea, event, or process

15. Verbal Symbol Two types Written words – more abstract Spoken words – less abstract

16. The Cone of Experience is a visual model, a pictorial device that presents bands of experience arranged according to degree of abstraction and not degree of difficulty. The farther you go from the bottom of the cone, the more abstract the experience becomes.

17. People always think differently. Some may think in concrete terms and some in abstract terms. Concrete thinking refers to the thinking on the surface whereas abstract thinking is related to thinking in depth. Read more:  Difference Between Concrete and Abstract Thinking | Difference Between | Concrete vs Abstract Thinking http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-concrete-and-abstract-thinking/#ixzz3f5hiHSMx

18. Different kind of sensory aid often overlap and sometime blend into one another. One kind of sensory experience is not necessarily more educationally useful than another. Sensory experiences are mixed and interrelated

19. Too much reliance on concrete experience may actually obstruct the process of meaningful generalization. The best will be striking a balance between concrete and abstract, direct participation and symbolic expression for the learning that will continue throughout the life

20. Do not use only one medium of communication in isolation. Rather use many instructional materials to help the learner conceptualize his/her experience

21. Avoid teaching directly at the symbolic level of thought without adequate foundation of the concrete. Learners’ concept will lack deep roots in direct experience.

22. When teaching, don’t get stuck in the concrete. Strive to bring our students to the symbolic or abstract level to develop their higher order thinking skills.

23. “These rootless experience will not have the generative power to produce additional concepts and will not enable the learner to deal with new situations that he/she faces” (Dale 1969)