Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience

Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience

Edgar Dale (1900-1985) served on The Ohio State University faculty from 1929 until 1970. He was an internationally renowned pioneer in the utilization of audio-visual materials in instruction. He also made major research contributions in the teaching of vocabulary and testing readability of texts. Jeanne S. Chall, an OSU Ph.D. graduate who went on to become a leading innovator in reading research. Perhaps Professor Dale's most famous concept was called the "cone of experience," a graphic depiction of the relationship between how information is presented in instruction and the outcomes for learners. Dale’s Cone first appeared in his 1946 textbook titled “Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching. This text is the grail for any educator wanting to successfully integrate AV materials into instruction. Dale intentions were not for the Cone to represent all ways of learning but instead to create a visual with which to categorize the progression of AV material usage, from the concrete to abstract experience.

Levels of the cone of experience

Enactive – direct experiences

—  Direct, Purposeful -Direct, first hand experiences. Have direct participation in the outcome. Use of all our senses

—  Contrived-Models and mock-ups like editing of reality. Necessary when real experience cannot be used or are too complicated

—  Dramatized-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)

Iconic – pictorial experiences

—  Demonstrations- Visualized explanation of an important fact, idea, or process. Shows how certain things are done.

—  Study trips-Watch people do things in real situations. Observe an event that is unavailable in the classroom.

—  Exhibits- Something seen by a spectator. Two types

—  Readymade: Museum, Career fair etc.

—  Home-made: Classroom project, National History Day competition etc.

—  Educational 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. It can re-create events with simplistic drama that even slower students can grasp.

—  Recordings, radio, still pictures- Can often be understood by those who cannot read. Helpful to students who cannot deal with the motion or pace of a real event or television

Symbolic – highly abstract experiences

—  Visual symbols- Very little immediate physical action. Difficult only if one doesn’t have enough direct experience to support the symbol. Used at all levels of the Cone in varying importance.

—  Verbal symbols -No longer involves reproducing real situations. Chalkboard and overhead projector the most widely used media. Help students see an idea, event, or process.