Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience

• Edgar Dale is the chief exponent of Audio-Visual

Aids in Teaching
• Originator of the co e of experie ce
• It is a visual aid to explain the inter-relationship
of the various types of audio-visual materials as
well as their individual position in the learning
process
• The diagram appears in his book “Audio-visual
Methods in Teaching (1969)
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• He introduced the cone of experience as a “pictorial
device – pinnacle for
• All the learning experiences which can be utilized
for classroom teaching are shown
• The cone uses their separate bands for organizing
instructional materials according to the kind of
experience each provides
• If we go up, the pinnacle from its base, every aid
has been arranged in the order of increasing
abstractness or decreasing directness
(concreteness)
• The most effective one is placed at the bottom of
the cone and those considered to be least effective
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• The narrowing upward shape of the cone does
not imply an increasing difficulty of learning
• The basis of the classification is not difficulty, but
degree of abstractness- the amount of
immediate sensory participation involved
• The cone suggests the most appropriate
method for teaching an abstract concept, in
accordance with the child s needs and abilities
at a particular time.
• It suggests the interrelated and interdependent
nature of learning experiences.
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 1. Direct & Purposeful Experience
• These experiences have least abstractness and
maximum concreteness
• Purposeful means the experiences are active with a
purpose.
• Experiences gained by us in real life through our direct
involvement on the first-hand basis
• It is the best mode, means, or channels for the desired
outcomes in a teaching –learning process.
• Teachers should always aim to provide real life
practical experiences to the students in the shape of
showing real objects and allowing them to come in
direct contact withDr.the
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the
of life on their own6
 2. Contrived experiences
• These are not very rich, concrete and direct as real
life direct experience
• When the real thing cannot be perceived directly,
contrived experiences can be provided like a
working model or some laboratory experiments
• Working model is an editing of reality and differs
from the original either in size or in complexity.
• It includes models, mock-ups, specimens, etc.
• In a simplified and edited version of the real thing,
we can remove the unnecessary details and make
the learning clear.
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 3. Dramatic participation
• The experience gained through the active
participation and role playing in dramatic activities
• Activities in which the real events of the past or
present are presented through visual display and
role playing
• It is effective in the teaching –learning of subjects
like: history, political science, language and
literature.
• Pupil who take part in dramatization gets closer to
direct experience than a pupil who watches it.
• The activities can be a variety of forms like full
length play, one act play, puppet show,
pageants(kind of community drama based on local
history), mime, Tableau, dialogues, on the spot
spontaneous acting and mock conventions, etc.
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 4. Demonstration
• It is a visualized explanation of an important fact,
idea or process.
• Pupil can watch how certain things are done either
in the form of actual objects or models.
• Certain complicated processes can be performed by
the teacher for the benefit of pupils who are
reduced to the position of passive listeners.
• For better results, teacher should try to involve the
students in the demonstration process through
question and answer or taking their help in the
arrangement and performance of demonstration
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 5. Field Trips
• It is a planned visit of a point or a place outside
the regular classroom.
• It is an arranged situation in the form of tours,
trips, excursion and outings
• Provide valuable opportunities to the students for
giving real life direct experiences
• Learning many concepts, gaining useful
information, knowledge and skills (coupled with a
lot of entertainment) related to various issues of
school; curriculum
• We bring the classroom into the community and
the problems of the community back into the class
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 6. Exhibits
• Bring the outside world into the classroom by
means of exhibits, the concrete representation of
the things.
• Teacher can help the students by gaining useful
experience through the observation and
organization of educationally significant
exhibitions
• Exhibits are less concrete or direct in terms of
providing direct practical experience
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 7. Motion Pictures
• It is audio and video device
• It is an artificial representation of the realities of the
things, persons, events, or processes of the real life
(past, present, and future)
• It is an alternative to direct experience and effective to
realize the objectives
• The use of television and video recordings are included
• Television – the real events as it actually happens
(outcome is unknown)
• Motion Pictures – lack the immediacy of live television
outcome is known since the events are recorded
We can avoid unnecessary and unimportant
material and concentrate upon few selected points
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 8. Still Pictures
• It lacks motion
• More abstract than motion pictures
• It bring us close to the point of visual contact with
reality itself.
• Can reduce or expand the size of an object that is
too small or too large to be understood visually in
actual dimensions.
• All type of projective materials such as pictures,
charts, graphs, maps, illustrations, diagrams,
cartoons, posters slides, or film strips which can be
shown with the help of any projective equipment.
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 9. Radio & Recordings
• Provide valuable auditory experience to the
learners through certain specially arranged
talks, and discussions and information
broadcast by the radio station.
• Various types of sound and auditory
experiences can be taped through tape
recorder and can be played back as and when
needed.
• It falls in the higher category of abstract and
indirect representation of the reality
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 10. Visual Symbols
• Presentation in the form of visual symbols provide
more real and concrete experiences than verbal
symbols presentation
• It include visual graphic materials like charts,
maps, diagrams, sketches, posters, cartoons,
photographs, blackboard drawings and sketching
• Visual symbols (free of the use of any language)
comprise a universal language for communication.
• Teacher can give a running commentary or
necessary explanation regarding their messages
side by side in his voice or through any mechanical
means like tape recorder.
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 1. Verbal Symbols
• Most abstract learning experience
• The use of any language in its written or
spoken form or both
• Spoken words are more abstract than written
words.
• It is said to be very effective tool, in terms of
economy of time, labour, money for carrying
out the communication process whether in the
classroom or in the outside world. (inspite of
the abstract nature of that)
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• Strength of it lies in the process of proper
encoding and decoding on the part of the sender
and receiver of the message.
• Use of chalk and talk method may invite negative
consequences of verbalism
• It may enforce the habit of spoon feeding,
memorization of facts without understanding
• Pure abstraction should be discarded while
dealing with the youngsters in any teaching –
learning process.

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