Lesson 5 The Cone of Experience

 

       I've learned that the Cone of Experience is a visual model that represents bands of experiences arranged according to the degree of abstraction and not degree of difficulty. The farther we go from the bottom or base of the cone, the more abstract the experience becomes.
   
       The bands of experiences are the following:
   
      1. Direct purposeful experience- first hand experience which serves as the foundation of our learning.
      2. Contrived experiences- use of a representative model or mock ups for practical reasons.

      3. Dramatized experience- we participate in reconstructed experiences, even though the original event is       far removed from us in time.
      4.Demonstration- a visualized explanation of an important fact, idea or process by the use of  photographs, drawings, films, displays, or guided motions.
      5. Study Trips- excursions and visits conducted to observe an event not available in the classroom.
      6. Exhibits- displays to be seen by spectators.
      7. Television and motion pictures- reconstruct the reality of the past effectively that we are made to feel we are there.
      8. Still pictures, Recordings, Radio- visual and auditory devices which may be used by an individual or a group.
      9. Visual symbols- they are no longer realistic reproduction of physical things for they are highly abstract representations like graphs, charts, maps and diagrams.
      10. Verbal symbols- they are not like the objects or ideas they stand.
   
      The Cone of Experience can be a cycle. We can use varied experiences on different times. We can use a combination of as many learning resources as we can and to proceed to the abstract after building the concrete foundation of the learner.