Dale's Cone of Experience as a framework classifying media experiences along concrete-abstract dimensions of learning¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The Cone of Experience, introduced by Edgar Dale in 1946 in Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching, is a way to classify media experiences in relation to psychological dimensions of learning. The article describes it as "a way to classify media experiences in relation to psychological dimensions of learning, specifically concrete and abstract", presenting media on a continuum from direct, purposeful experiences to indirect, symbolic ones. Dale also described the cone as a metaphor for concept development, and believed the cone turned on its side illustrated a spiral curriculum.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• The framework requires relating media choices to the concrete-to-abstract continuum of learning experiences

Constraints¶

• The cone is dated in its description of media, having been introduced in a period when media capability and use differed

Target Learners¶

• instructional designers selecting media for instruction

Target Learning Objectives¶

• concept learning through media-supported experiences

Claims¶

• Dale argued learning becomes more meaningful when abstract learning and concrete experience are related, not that more realism is better [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Two-dimensional taxonomy of instructional video styles: human embodiment and instructional media

Examples¶

• Cone of Experience (Concrete-to-Abstract Media Selection)

Key Sources¶

• Seels, B. (1997). The Relationship of Media and ISD Theory: The Unrealized Promise of Dale's Cone of Experience. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED409869