Lesson 1: Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience

The 8M’s of Teaching

1. Milieu- the learning environment 
2. Matter – the content of learning 
3.Method – teaching and learning activities 
4. Material – the resources of learning 
5. Media – communication system 
6. Motivation – arousing and sustaining interest in learning 
7. Mastery – internalization of learning 
8. Measurement – evidence that learning took place
 Media and Material are the elements of the Cone of Experience

Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience

— The Cone of Experience is a visual model that shows a continuum of learning; a pictorial device that
presents bands of experience.
— Dale’s Cone of Experience composed of eleven (11) bands 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.
— The arrangement in the cone is not based on its difficulty but rather based on abstraction and on the
number of senses involved.
— It is a tool to help instructors make decisions about resources and activities.

The Bands in Dale’s Cone of Experience

Direct purposeful experiences – These refers to foundation of experiencing learning. Using the senses,
meaningful knowledge and understanding are established. This is experiential learning where one learns
by doing. 

Contrived experiences - Representations such as models, miniatures, or mock ups are used. There are
things or events that may be beyond the learners grasp and so contrived experiences can provide a
substitute. 

Dramatized experiences - These are commonly used as activities that allows students to actively
participate in a reconstructed experience through role-playing or dramatization. 

Demonstrations - When one decides to show how things are done, a demonstration is the most
appropriate experience. It is an actual execution of a procedure or a process.

Study trips - These are actual visits to certain locations to observe a situation or a case which may not be
available inside the classroom. 
Exhibits - These are displays of models such as pictures, artifacts, posters, among others that can provide
the message or information.

Television and motion pictures - These technology equipment provide a two-dimensional reconstruction
of a reality. These allow learners to experience the situation being communicated through the mediated
tools. They provide a feeling of realism as viewers try to understand the message portrayed by actors in
the films. 

Still pictures, Recordings, Radio - Still are pictures or images. Together in this category are the audio-
recorded materials or information broadcast through the radio. 

Visual Symbols - These are more abstract representations of the concept or the information.

Verbal symbols - It appears to be the most abstract because they may not exactly look like the concept or
object they represent but are symbols, words, codes or formulae.

 Brunner’s three-tiered model of learning points out that every area of knowledge can be
presented and learned in three distinct steps.

 Enactive — a series of actions

 Iconic — a series of illustrations or icons

 Symbolic — a series of symbols

Questions:

1. He developed the Cone of Experience. (Answer: Edgar Dale)

2. It is the foundation of learning. (Answer: Direct purposeful experiences)

3. A visual model that shows a continuum of learning; a pictorial device that presents bands of
experience. (Answer: Cone of Experience)
4. It is an actual execution of a procedure or a process. (Answer: Demonstration)
5. It appears to be the most abstract bands in Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience. (Answer: Verbal
Symbols)