The Cone of Experience

Edgar Dale – U.S educationist who developed the worlds famous cone of
experience.
He was a Professor of education at a university that made several
contributions to audio
and visual instruction including the methodology for analyzing the content of
motion and pictures. Now, he was an expert in audio visual education. He created
the model in his 1946 book entitled audio visual methods in teaching that he
named the cone of experience to discuss various modalities or channels of
imparting information.

Cone of Experience – Edgar dales introduced cone of experience to show the

progression learning experiences from concrete to abstract.
It is also a pictorial device that will show the interrelationship within the various
types of audio visual media
Cone of experience will also help us to choose or to find or to select an
instructional resource or activities for our students.
Concrete experience: being involved in a new experience. situation is encountered
Abstract conceptualization: Based on your observations and reflections. it is an idea that people can
understand that has no physical form

Level of experience - In moving toward the pinnacle of the Cone from direct,
purposeful experiences to verbal symbols, the degree of abstraction gradually
increases. As a result, learners become spectators rather than participants (Seels,
1997). The bottom of the Cone represented “purposeful experience that is seen,
handled, tasted, touched, felt, and smelled” (Dale, 1954, p. 42). By contrast, at
the top of the Cone, verbal symbols (i.e., words) and messages are highly
abstract. They do not have physical resemblance to the objects or ideas.

3 modes:
Enactive (Learning by doing) , direct, purposeful, contrived, dramatized
Iconic – Learning through illustrations (demonstrations, study trips, exhibits,
Educational television, motion pictures, recording, radio AND STILL PICTURES
Symbolic – Learning through abstract symbols (visual symbols, Verbal symbols)
11 experiences
1. Direct - Learning happens through actual hands-on experiences. This level
explains and proves one of the principles in the selection and use of
teaching strategies, the more senses that are involved in learning, the more
and the better the learning will be. This level also proves that educational
technology is not limited to the modern gadgets and software that are
commercially available nowadays. This shows that even the simple
opportunity that you give to each child could help them learn. REPRESENTS
REALITY.
EXAMPLE: handling pre school stident. Know how to write, experience
writing.
2. Contrived - This level is very practical and it makes learning experience
more accessible to the learner. In this stage, it provides more concrete
experiences, even if not as concrete as direct experiences, that allows to
visualization that fosters better understanding of the concept. it is
necessary when real experience cannot be use or too complicated. To
simulate real life situation or activities.
EXAMPLE: having a model, the globe or atom or any models that will serve
or substitute for you to explain the confusing things or the confusing first
hand experience.
3. Through dramatized experiences, learners become more familiar with the
concept as they emerge themselves to the “as-if” situation. Can be use to
simplify an event or idea to its most important parts.
Example: Acting, role play, musical

4. Demo-  In this level, things are shown based on how they are done. Math
problems, cpr
5. Through this level, the learning experience will not be limited to the
classroom setting but rather extended in a more complex environment.
Field trips and field study

6. eXHIBIT – PRESENT OBJECT that are impossible to be seen in our conducive

classroom. Exposures of new ideas discoveries things or invention. For
example photo exhibit, it consists of models, photographs charts, so those
are the things that you can be seen in an exibit.

7. Educ tel and motion pictures - I decided to combine these two stages since
it is re3lated to one another. Because of the rapid development of the
modern technology, a lot of people believe that Educational technology is
limited to these stages. They are not aware that these sages are only a
small portion of EdTech. 
8. Recording, radio and still pictures - Can be often understood by those who
cannot deal with the motion or a real event in the television. If you are not
good in visual, maybe you are good in the auditory. So if that’s the case,
you need to listen music or listen to an old broadcast.

9. VISUAL -  In the visual symbolic level, charts, maps, graphs, and diagrams
are used for abstract representations. We will not use the real example na.
10.Verbal – The verbal symbolic level does not involve visual representation or
clues to their meanings. Mostly, the things involved in this level are words,
ideas, principles, formula, and the likes.
FOR EXAMPLE IF THE CHILD HEARS BALL, THE CHILD WILL IMAGINE THAT
THE BALL IS RED AND ROUND

THE last 2 LEVELS ARE THE MOST COMPLEX AND ABSTRACT AMONG ALL
THE COMPONENTS OF THE CONE OF EXPEIENCE. In these 2 levels real
experiences is not involved anymore.