Chapter 5: Dales’ 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.

According to 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 but it does not mean that concrete experience is the only effective experience that educators should use in transferring knowledge to the learner. Like what was mentioned above, the experiences in each stages can be mixed and are interrelated thus, a balance must be achieved between concrete and abstract experiences in order to cater the and address all the need of the learner in all the domains of development and in order to help each learner in their holistic development.

Moreover, the generalization about the Cone of Experience that was presented above is not enough. Actually, we should try to go deeper in each of the component of the cone since Educational Technology basically revolves around the Cone of Experience. By going one-by-one, starting from concrete to abstract, we will understand more the different components of the cone that will help us in grasping the real meaning of educational technology.

REFLECTION

Cone of experience composed of stages that start from concrete to more abstract. It involves the use of senses and according to the author, the more the senses involves the more the better the learning. Cone of experience relies on everyday life, on every action that we take every single and every moment of it. Concrete and abstract experiences should be balance in order to have a holistically development of their learning’s.

We face some risk when we overemphasize the amount of direct experience to learn a concept. Too much reliance on concrete experience may actually obstruct the process of meaningful generalization. The best will be striking a balance between concrete and abstract, direct participation and symbolic expression for the learning that will continue throughout life.

            It is true that the older a person is the more abstract his concepts are likely to be. This can be attributed to physical maturation, more vivid experiences and sometimes greater motivation for learner. But an older student does not live purely in this world of abstract ideas just as a child does not live only in the world of sensory experience.