TTL in the Elementary Grade 1

Lesson 5
Direct, Purposeful
Experiences and Beyond
"From the rich experiences that our senses bring, we construct the ideas, the concepts,
the generalizations that give meaning and order to our lives.”
Edgar Dale

Learning  Use direct experiences in the teaching-learning

Outcome process effectively
Focus  What do direct purposeful experiences refer to?
 For meaningful learning where should these direct
Question
and purposeful experiences feud the learners in?

Introduction
After seeing instructional materials as a whole, let us single out direct,
purposeful experiences as instructional materials, the most real in Dale's Cone
of Experience. Let's learn how they can be effectively used for instruction.

Activity

Read the following testimonies, then answer the questions below.

“The meanings of negative discrimination index and positive

discrimination index became crystal clear to me only when we did an
item analysis of our test items." Grade VI teacher

“they were not always around to help me with my reports, lecture

notes, etc. To redeem myself from my helplessness, I forced myself to
learn, first of all encoding, then sending c-mail and surfing the Internet.
What encouraged me was my five-year old granddaughter could do
what I was not capable of doing. Now I feel liberated. I can encode and
print my lectures, send emails, surf the Internet, and do PowerPoint
lecture presentation, even when no one is around to help only after I had
to do these things myself.” - Graduate School Professor

My boss assigned me to put the transparencies on the plate of the

overhead projector while he delivered his lecture on stage. It turned out
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that the first transparency was not positioned upright for the audience.
I repositioned the transparency but it was still inverted. I felt nervous
and the woman in the audience who was seated nearby came to my
rescue. I have never forgotten that experience but having been assigned
the task repeatedly, I can say I am now expert at the OHP. - Secretary to
the Dean

"It was only when I went to the Manila zoo that I learned that a
giraffe is that tall and an elephant is that big." - Grade 4 pupil

Discussion Questions:
 Do you have a similar experience? Share.
 Think of a skill you have. How did you acquire it?
 Think of a concept. How did you learn it?

Analysis
 How did the four narrators learn their respective skills concept?
Analyze.

Abstraction
Whatever skills or concepts we have did not come out of the blue. We
spent hours doing the activity by ourselves in order to acquire the skill. The
same thing is through with the four (4) narrators above. They learned the skills
by doing, The Graduate School professor had to do the computer task herself
to learn the skill. The Secretary learned from her mistake and repeatedly doing
the task correctly enabled her to master the skill. The Grade IV pupil got a
crystal clear concept of the size of the elephant and height of giraffe after seeing
with her eyes the real elephant and giraffe. For the Grade VI teacher, the
statistical concepts of positive and negative discrimination indices became fully
understood only after the actual experience of item analysis. All these
experiences point to the need to use, whenever we can, direct, purposeful
experiences in the teaching-learning process.

What are referred to as direct, purposeful experiences? These are our

concrete and firsthand experiences that make up the foundation of our
learning. These are the rich experiences that our senses bring from which we
construct the ideas, the concepts, the generalizations that give meaning and
order to our lives. (Dale,1969). They are sensory experiences.
 TTL in the Elementary Grade 3

These direct activities may be preparing meals, making a piece of

furniture, doing powerpoint presentation, performing a laboratory experiment,
delivering a speech, or taking a trip.

In contrast, indirect experiences are experiences of other... people that

we observe, read or hear about. They are not our own self- experiences but still
experiences in the sense that we see, read and hear about them. They are not
firsthand but rather vicarious or indirect experiences.

Climbing a mountain is firsthand, direct experience. Seeing it done in

films or reading about it is a vicarious, substitute experience. It is clear
therefore, that we can approach the world of reality directly through the senses
and indirectly with reduced sensory experience. For example, we can bake
black forest cake or see it done in the tv or read about it.

Why are these direct experiences described to be purposeful?

Purposeful because the experiences are not purely mechanical. They are not a
matter of going through the motion. These are not "mere sensory excitation".
They are experiences that are internalized in the sense that these experiences
involve the asking of questions that have significance in the life of the person
undergoing the direct experience.

They are also described as purposeful because these experiences are

undergone in relation to a purpose, i.e. learning. Why do we want our students
to have a direct experience in conducting an experiment in the laboratory? It is
done in relation to a certain learning objective.

Where should these direct, purposeful experiences lead us to? The title
of this Lesson "Direct, Purposeful Experiences and Beyond" implies that these
direct experiences must not be the period or the dead end. We must be brought
to a higher plane. The higher plane referred to here is the level of generalization
and abstraction.

That is why we speak of "hands-on, minds-on, and hearts-on approach.

Out of the direct experience, thoughts or meanings following reflection must
flow or run the risk of a lesson consisting of activity after another activity
enjoyed by the learners who cannot make connection with the activities
themselves.

The Grade IV pupil's zoo experience of the elephant and giraffe as given
in the ACTIVITY phase of the lesson enables him to understand clearly and
visualize correctly an elephant and a giraffe upon reading or hearing the words
"elephant" and "giraffe". The Cone of Experience implies that we move from
 TTL in the Elementary Grade 4

the concrete to the abstract (and from the abstract to the concrete as well.) Direct
experiences serve as the foundation of concept formation, generalization and
abstraction. John Dewey (1916) has made this fundamental point succinctly:

An ounce of experience is better than a ton of theory because it is only

in experience that any theory has vital and verifiable significance. An
experience, a very humble experience, is capable of generating and carrying any
amount of theory for intellectual content), but a theory apart from an experience
cannot be definitely grasped as a theory. It tends to become a mere verbal
formula, a set of catchwords used to render thinking, or genuine theorizing
unnecessary and impossible.

If direct, purposeful experiences or firsthand Sensory

experiences make us learn concepts and skills effectively, what does
this imply to the teaching-learning process? First, let us give our
students opportunities to learn by doing. Let us immerse our students
in the world of experience. Second, let us make use of real things as
instructional materials for as long as we can. Third, let us help the
students develop the five senses to the full to heighten their sensitivity
to the world. Fourth, let us guide our students so that they can draw
meaning from their firsthand experiences and elevate their level of
thinking. As mentioned in Lesson 5, let us not be tempted to get stuck to
the concrete and fail to bring up our students to the higher level of
thinking process.

Application
1. Apply the concept of direct experiences to the college courses you have
taken. Why do you have Field Study Courses and Practice Teaching? If
yes, what are they?
2. Go over the K to 12 Curriculum Guide. Find out which competencies
can be best taught through direct experience. If you don't have a copy of
the K to 12 Curriculum Guide, download it from the DepEd website or
you send your request for a copy to Kto12.secretariat@gmail.com

Summing Up
Direct experiences are firsthand experiences that serve as the foundation
of learning. The opposite of direct experiences are indirect or vicarious
experiences.
 TTL in the Elementary Grade 5

Direct experiences lead us to concept formation and abstraction. We

should not end our lessons knowing only the concrete. We go beyond the
concrete by reaching the level of abstract concepts.

Making the Connection

1. Here is an approximation of how much persons learn through the
five senses.

Connect this graph to sensory experience for maximum learning.

Take note of the number of senses involved starting with the base of the
Cone. Does this graph relate to what you learned about direct
purposeful experiences? Do you see any relation or connection?

2. Does the Figure reflect what we have been saying about the
effectiveness of the use of direct experiences? Explain your answer.
 TTL in the Elementary Grade 6

3. Any principle you learned from the Principles of Teaching that

connects to learning by direct experience?

4. Our lack of understanding is often due to our lack of attention. Our

lack of attention is usually due to a failure in the use of our senses.
Connect this to firsthand or sensory experience.

5. Emerson wrote:
Seven men went through a field, one after another. One was a farmer, he
saw only the grass: the next was an astronomer, he saw the horizon and the
stars: the physician noticed the standing water and suspected miasma; he
was followed by a soldier, who glanced over the ground, found it easy to
hold, and saw in a moment how the troops could be disposed; then came the
geologist. who noticed the boulders and the sandy loam. after him came the
real-estate broker. who bethaught him how the line of the house lots should
run, where would be the driveway, and the stables. The poet admired the
shadows cast by some trees, and still more the music of some thrushes and
a meadow lark.
What does this paragraph imply about peoples interpretation of the
concrete? How can we arrive at a more accurate interpretation of
what we experience?

Personal Postscript
Direct, purposeful experiences are things
you can use on Monday!
If budget on purchase of instructional materials is one of your worries,
to use direct experiences as teaching material sets you free from worry. Direct
experiences or firsthand experiences are things you can already use on
Monday"!

All that is needed is you know which direct experiences will serve your
purpose, you know when to use them and how to use them. You have the skill
to lead the students in drawing generalization or abstraction about the direct
experience for meaning. Firsthand sensory experience alone does not ensure
adequate learning. For instance, teachers do a lot of preparation before they
 TTL in the Elementary Grade 7

bring their children to get in direct contact with the City Council in session to
realize their objectives.

There are several instances where students claim they enjoyed the
activities but if you ask them what they learned from the activities they hardly
could say something. That proves that the teaching dwelt only on the "hands-
on".