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)