“The cone is a visual analogy and like all analogies, it does not bear an

exact and detailed relationship to the complex elements it present.”

- Edgar Dale
What is Dale’s Cone of Experience?
- The Cone was originally developed by Edgar Dale in
1946 and was intended as a way to describe various
learning experiences.

- During the 1960s, Edgar Dale theorized that learners

retain more information by what they “do” as
opposed to what is “heard”, “read” or “observed”.

- His research led to the development of the Cone of

Experience.

- Today, this “learning by doing” has become known as

“experiential learning” or “action learning”.
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 towards the abstract if mastery is to be obtained.
What is Cone of Experience?
The Cone of Experience is
a visual model, a pictorial
device that presents bans
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.
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
Concrete vs. Abstract Learning
Concrete Learning Abstract Learning
• First-hand experiences • Difficulty when not
• Learner has some control enough previous
over the outcome experience or exposure to
• Incorporates the use of all a concept
five senses
Enactive Experiences on the Cone
• 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.
Direct Purposeful Experiences
▪ These are the first hand experiences which serves as the
foundation of our learning.
▪ The most concrete uses of experience
▪ Use of all our senses
▪ Examples:
✓ Working in a homeless shelter
✓ Tutoring younger children
✓ Actual swimming lesson
Contrived Experiences
 Here, we make use of a representative models and
mock-ups of reality.
 Necessary when real experience cannot be used or are
too complicated.
 Examples
➢ Mock Ups
➢ Dummy
➢ Models
➢ Games
➢ Simulations
➢ Objects
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/plays (more abstract)
▪ Other forms:
✓ Puppets
✓ Pageant
✓ Pantomime
✓ Tableau
Demonstrations
▪ A visualized explanation of an important
fact, idea or process by the use of:
✓ Photographs
✓ Drawings
✓ Films
✓ Displays
✓ Guided Motions
Study Trips
▪ Watch people do things in real situations
▪ Observe an event that is unavailable in the
classroom
▪ Examples:
✓ Field Study
✓ Educational Trips
Exhibits
▪ These are displays to be seen by spectators
▪ May consist of working models, charts and posters
▪ Sometimes are “for yours eyes only”. More on visual.
▪ Examples:
✓ Museums
✓ Trade Fair
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
Educational Television and Motion
Pictures
Television
 Bring immediate interaction with events from
around the world
 Edit an event to create clearer understanding
than if experienced actual event first hand
Motion Pictures
 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.
Still Pictures, Recordings, Radio
▪ 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:
✓ Radio Broadcast
✓ Listening to Music
✓ Magazine
Symbolic Experiences on the
Cone
▪ Refers to the use of words or printed materials
which no longer resemble the object under study.
Visual Symbols
▪ These are no longer realistic reproduction of
physical thing
▪ Help students see an idea, event, or process
▪ Examples:
➢ Chalkboard
➢ Flat Maps
➢ Diagrams
➢ Charts
➢ Posters
➢ Graphs
Verbal Symbols
▪ They are not like the objects or ideas for which they
stand.
▪ They usually do not contain visual clues to their
meaning.
▪ Example:
➢ A formula (e=mc2)
➢ An idea (freedom of speech)
How can instructors use the Cone of
Experience?
▪ According to Dale’s research, the least effective method at the
top, involves learning from information presented through
verbal symbols.
▪ Themost effective methods at the bottom, involves direct,
purposeful learning experiences, such as hands-on or field
experience.
▪ The cone charts the average retention rate for various methods
of teaching. The further you progress down the cone, the
greater the learning and the more information is likely to be
retained.
How can instructors use the Cone of
Experience?
▪ Italso suggests that when choosing an instructional method it is
important to remember that involving students in the process
strengthens knowledge retention.
▪ People learn best when they use perceptual learning styles.
Perceptual learning styles are sensory based. The more sensory
channels possible in interacting with a resource, the better
chance that many students can learn from it.
▪ According to Dale, instructors should design instructional
activities that build upon more real-life experiences.
How can instructors use the Cone of
Experience?
▪ Dales’ cone of experience is a tool to help instructors make
decisions about resources and activities. The instructor can ask
the following:
▪ Where will the student’s experience with this instructional resource fit on the
cone? How far is it removed from real-life?
▪ What kind of learning experience do you want to provide in the
classroom?
▪ How does this instructional resource augment the information supplied by
the textbook?
▪ What and how many senses can students use to learn this instructional
material?
▪ Does the instructional material enhance learning?