Chapter 5: Dale’s Cone of Experience

        Dale’s Cone of Experience is a visual model that is composed of eleven (11) stages starting from concrete experiences at the bottom of the cone then it becomes more and more abstract as it reach the peak of the cone. Also, according to Dale, the arrangement in the cone is not based on its difficulty but rather based on abstraction and on the number of senses involved. The experiences in each stages can be mixed and are interrelated that fosters more meaningful learning.

      Direct Purposeful Experiences- These is first hand experiences which serve as the foundation of learning. In this level, more senses are used in order to build up the knowledge. Also, in this level, the learner learned by doing things by him/herself. 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.

        The next level would be the Contrived Experiences. In this level, representative models and mock-ups of reality are being used in order to provide an experience that as close as reality.  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 visualization that fosters better understanding of the concept.

           On the other hand, the next level would be the Dramatized experiences. In this level, learners can participate in a reconstructed experiences that could give them better understanding of the event or of a concept. Through dramatized experiences, learners become more familiar with the concept as they emerge themselves to the “as-if” situation.

The next level would be the Demonstrations. It is a visualize explanation of important fact, idea, or process through the use of pictures, drawings, film and other types of media in order to facilitate clear and effective learning. In this level, things are shown based on how they are done.

Another level would be the Study Trips. This level extends the learning experience through excursions and visits on the different places that are not available inside the classroom. Through this level, the learning experience will not be limited to the classroom setting but rather extended in a more complex environment.

         The level of study trips is followed by exhibits. It is a somewhat a combination of some of the first levels in the cone. Actually, exhibits are combination of several mock ups and models. Most of the time, exhibits are experiences that is “for your eyes” only but some exhibits includes sensory experiences which could be related to direct purposeful experiences. In this level, meanings ideas are presented to the learners in  a more abstract manner. This experience allows student to see the meaning and relevance of things based on the different pictures and representations presented.

        The next levels would be the level of television and motion pictures and still pictures, recordings, and Radio. It implies values and messages through television and films. On the other hand, still pictures, recordings and radio are visual and auditory devices that can be used by a learner/group of learner that could enhance and extend learning experience

          The last two levels would be the Visual symbolic and Verbal symbolic. These two levels are the most complex and abstract among all the components of the Cone of Experience. In the visual symbolic level, charts, maps, graphs, and diagrams are used for abstract representations. On the other hand, 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.

 Graphic Organizers :

Reflection:

     After going through the different components of Cone of Experiences, it gives me an overview what are the things to know the ability and aptitude.

 As a future educator, this can be help of determining what are the strategy to do and also in facilitating learning it gives me an idea that I can use variety of materials and medium in order to maximize the learning experiences and activities of the students. I'm not be worried in using more than one medium because there's nothing wrong for as long as it could be beneficial to the learners/students that we can provide them an effective and meaningful learning.