THE CONE OF EXPERIENCE

Educational Technology I
Cone of Experience
• Developed by Edgar Dale

• A visual model, a pictorial device that

presents bands of experience arranged
according to degree of abstraction and
not degree of difficulty.
 The Authentic
Cone
• 1946, 1st Edition of
Audiovisual Methods in
Teaching
• 1954, 2nd Edition of
Audiovisual Methods in
Teaching
• 1969, 3rd Edition of
Audiovisual Methods in
Teaching
Edgar Dale further explains…

• Individual bands of the Cone of

Experience stand for experiences that are
fluid, extensive and continually interact”
• Different kinds of sensory aid often
overlap and sometimes blend into one
another.
Some important key points about
the Cone…

• One kind of sensory experience is not

necessarily more educational useful than
one another.
• Sensory experiences are mixed and
interrelated.
DIRECT PURPOSEFUL EXPERIENCES

• concrete, first hand experiences

• Have direct participation in the outcome
• Use of all our senses

Examples:
preparing meals, making a piece of furniture,
doing presentation, performing laboratory
experiment, delivering speech or taking a trip
PURPOSEFUL because….

• Experiences are not purely mechanical

• Undergone in relation to a purpose, i.e.
learning
WHERE SHOULD DIRECT
EXPERIENCES LEAD US TO?

• We must be moved to the higher plane

which refers to level of generalization
and abstraction
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES

• “Edited” copies of reality

• Used as substitute for real things
Examples:
Models, mock-ups, specimen, simulation
and games
PURPOSES

• Overcome limitations of space and time

• To “edit” reality
• Overcome difficulties of size
• Understand the inaccessible
• Help learners understand abstractions.
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

• MODELS
– Reproduction of a real thing in a small scale,
or large scale or exact size – but made of
synthetic materials

Example: planetarium, atom

CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

• MOCK UP
– Is a special model where the parts of a
model are singled out, heightened and
magnified in order to focus on that part or
process under study.

Example: planetarium, mock up of an auto

plant to show the auto making process
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

• SPECIMEN
– any individual or item considered typical of
a group, class or a whole.
• OBJECTS
– may also includes artifacts displayed in a
museum or objects displayed in museum.
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…
• SIMULATION
– Representation of a manageable real event in
event in which the learner is an active
participant engaged in learning a behavior or
in applying previously acquired skills or
knowledge.

Examples:
– Fire and earthquake drill
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

• GAMES
– Are used to practice and/or refine
knowledge /skills already acquired
– Identify gaps or weaknesses in knowledge
or skills
– Serve as a summation or review
– Develop new relationships among concepts
and principles
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

Games Simulations
are played need not a
to win winner
TEACHING WITH DRAMATIZED
EXPERIENCES
• Reconstructed experiences
• Can be used to simplify an event or idea to
its most important parts

Divided into two categories:

• Acting – actual participation (more concrete)
• Observing – watching a dramatization take
place (more abstract)
TEACHING WITH DRAMATIZED
EXPERIENCES
Examples:
• Formal • Less Formal
–plays –tableau
–pageants –pantomime
–Puppets
–Role-playing
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

• Plays
– Depicts life, character, or culture or a
combination of all three

• Pageants
– Are community dramas that are based on
local history, presented by local actors.
Example: a historical pageant that traces the
growth of a school
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

• Pantomime
– The art of conveying a story through bodily
movements only

• Tableau (French word meaning picture)

– A picture-like scene composed of people
against a background
Often used to celebrate Independence Day,
Christmas Day and United Nations Day
CONTRIVED EXPERIENCES cont’d…

• Puppets
– Can present ideas with extreme simplicity

• Types of Puppet
– Shadow puppets
– Rod puppets
– Hand puppets
– Gove-and-finger puppets
– Marionettes