THE CONE OF EXPERIENCE

By Edgar Dale

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.

• The elements of the Cone of

Experience are the 2 M’s of instruction

namely the media and the material.

• It guides the teachers in choosing the

kind of instructional materials in

teaching.

Direct Purposeful

Experiences

Contrived

Experiences

Dramatized

Experiences

Demonstrations

Study Trips

Exhibits

Educational

Television

Motion Pictures

Recordings, Radio Still

Pictures

Visual Symbols

Verbal SymbolsED

GA

R D

ALE’S C

ON

E OF EX

PER

IENC

E

Cognitive Skills

First introduced in Dale’s 1946 book, Audio-Visual Methods in

Teaching.

Designed to “show the progression of learning experiences” from the

concrete to the abstract.

Concrete vs. Abstract Learning

Concrete Learning Abstract Learning

• First-hand experiences

• Learner has some control over the outcome

• Incorporates the use of all five senses

• Difficulty when not enough previous experience or exposure to a concept

• Every level of the Cone uses abstract thinking in come way

Influences on the Cone of Experience

Hoban, Hoban & Zisman’s Visual Media Graph Value of educational technology is based on their

degree of realism

Jerome Bruner’s Theory of Instruction Three levels in the learning process

Enactive – direct experience Iconic – representation of experience Symbolic – words or visual symbols

The process of learning must begin in concrete experiences and move toward the abstract if mastery is to be obtained.

Mis-Conceptions of the Cone

• All teaching/learning must move from the bottom to the top of the Cone.

• One kind of experience on the Cone is more useful than another

• More emphasis should be put on the bottom levels of the Cone

• The upper level of the Cone is for older students while the lower levels are for younger students

• It overemphasizes the use of instructional media

Levels of the Cone of Experience

Enactive – direct experiences Direct, Purposeful Contrived Dramatized

Iconic – pictorial experiences Demonstrations Study trips Exhibits Educational television Motion pictures Recordings, radio, still

pictures

Symbolic – highly abstract experiences Visual symbols Verbal symbols

Direct Purposeful

Experiences

Contrived

Experiences

Dramatized

Experiences

Demonstratio

ns

Study Trips

Exhibits

Educational

Television

Motion Pictures

Recordings, Radio Still

Pictures

Visual Symbols

Verbal Symbols

Enactive

• Refers to the direct experiences or encounter with what is.

• This is life on the raw, rich and unedited.

• They form the bases for all other learning experiences.

• Example: (Actual swimming lesson)

Direct Purposeful Experiences

• “First hand Experiences”

• Have direct participation in the outcome

• Use of all our senses

Examples:

Working in a homeless shelter

Tutoring younger children

At the very bottom of the Cone we find the most concrete uses of experience.

Contrived Experiences

Here, we make use of a representative models and mock-ups of reality.

“Edited copies of reality” Necessary when real experience cannot be

used or are too complicated. Examples

Conducting election of class and school officers

Mock up of a clock

CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES

GAMES

OBJECTS

SPECIMENS

MOCK UPS

MODELS

SIMULATIONS

Dramatized Experiences

“Reconstructed Experiences” Can be used to simplify an event or idea to its most

important parts. Divided into two categories Acting (Role Playing)– actual participation (more concrete) Observing – watching a dramatization take place (more abstract)

Other forms:1. Plays2. Puppets3. Pageant4. Pantomime5. Tableu

Demonstrations• A visualized explanation of an important fact, idea or process by the

use of:1. Photographs2. Drawings3. Films4. Displays5. Guided motions• Showing how things are done.

– How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich– How to play the piano– How to lift a fingerprint

• Visualized explanation of an important fact, idea, or process• Demonstrations are a great mixture of concrete hands-on

application and more abstract verbal explanation.

Study Trips

Watch people do things in real situations

Observe an event that is unavailable in the classroom

• These are excursions, educational trips, and visits conducted o observe an event that is unavailable within the classroom.

Example: Field Study

• These are displays to be seen by spectators.

• May consist of working models, charts and posters.

• Sometimes are “for your eyes only”. More on visual.

Two types Ready made○ Museum

○ Career fair

Home-made○ Classroom project

○ National History Day competition

Iconic Experiences on the Cone

Progressively moving toward greater use of imagination

Successful use in a classroom depends on how much imaginative involvement the method can illicit from students

Involves:DemonstrationsStudy tripsExhibitsMotion picturesEducational televisionRadio, recordings, and still pictures

Educational Television and Motion Pictures

Television Motion Pictures

Bring immediate interaction with events from around the world

Edit an event to create clearer understanding than if experienced actual event first hand

Example: TV coverage of 9/11

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

• Television and motion pictures can reconstruct the reality of the past so effectively that we are made to feel we are there.

• The unique value of the messages communicated by film and television lies in their feeling of realism, their emphasis on persons and personality, their organized presentation, and their ability to select, dramatize, highlight, and clarify.

Recordings, Radio Still Pictures

Can often be understood by those who cannot read. Lack auditory dimension.

Helpful to students who cannot deal with the motion or pace of a real event or television

These are visual or auditory devices which maybe used by an individual or a group.

Examples: Time Life Magazine Listening to old radio broadcasts Listening to music

Symbolic• Refers to the use of words or printed materials

which no longer resemble the object under study.

• Example the word whale. Upon reading or hearing the word whale, the learner can form a mental image about it.

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

Examples:Chalkboard

Flat maps

Diagrams

charts

VISUAL SYMBOLS

DRAWINGS

CARTOONS

POSTERS

DIAGRAMS

CHARTS

GRAPHS

STRIP DRAWINGSMAPS

Verbal Symbols

• They are not like the objects or ideas for which they stand. They usually do not contain visual clues to their meaning.

• Written words fall under this category. It may be a word for a concrete object (book), an idea (freedom of speech), a scientific principle (the principle of balance), a formula (e=mc2)