05 Anchored Instruction Theory

Theories IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Anchored Instruction Theory (John Bransford)

Anchored instruction is a major paradigm for technology-based learning that has been developed by the Cognition & Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV) under the leadership of John Bransford. While many people have contributed to the theory and research of anchored instruction, Bransford is the principal spokesperson and hence the theory is attributed to him.

The initial focus of the work was on the development of interactive videodisc tools that encouraged students and teachers to pose and solve complex, realistic problems. The video materials serve as "anchors" (macro-contexts) for all subsequent learning and instruction. As explained by CTGV (1993, p52): "The design of these anchors was quite different from the design of videos that were typically used in education...our goal was to create interesting, realistic contexts that encouraged the active construction of knowledge by learners. Our anchors were stories rather than lectures and were designed to be explored by students and teachers. “The use of interactive videodisc technology makes it possible for students to easily explore the content.

Anchored instruction is closely related to the situated learning framework (see CTGV, 1990, 1993) and also to the Cognitive Flexibility theory in its emphasis on the use of technology-based learning.

Application

The primary application of anchored instruction has been to elementary reading, language arts and mathematics skills. The CLGV has developed a set of interactive videodisc programs called the "Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series". These programs involve adventures in which mathematical concepts are used to solve problems. However, the anchored instruction paradigm is based upon a general model of problem-solving (Bransford & Stein, 1993).

Example

One of the early anchored instruction activities involved the use of the film, "Young Sherlock Holmes" in interactive videodisc form. Students were asked to examine the film in terms of causal connections, motives of the characters, and authenticity of the settings in order to understand the nature of life in Victorian England. The film provides the anchor for an understanding of story-telling and a particular historical era.

Principles

1. Learning and teaching activities should be designed around a "anchor" which should be some sort of case-study or problem situation.

2. Curriculum materials should allow exploration by the learner (e.g., interactive videodisc programs).

References:


· Bransford, J.D. et al. (1990). Anchored instruction: Why we need it and how technology can help. In D. Nix & R. Sprio (Eds), Cognition, education and multimedia. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.


· Bransford, J.D. & Stein, B.S. (1993). The Ideal Problem Solver (2nd Ed). New York: Freeman.


· CTGV (1990). Anchored instruction and its relationship to situated cognition. Educational Researcher, 19 (6), 2-10.


· CTGV (1993). Anchored instruction and situated cognition revisted. Educational Technology, 33 (3), 52- 70.

04 Theories and Practices

Theories and practices

Three main theoretical schools or philosophical frameworks have been present in the educational technology literature. Each of these schools of thought are still present in today’s literature but have evolved as the Psychology literature has evolved.

Behaviorism

In B. F. Skinner’s Behaviorism, the major theories as pertaining to education are reinforcement, verbal behavior theories, and social development theories.  Though all aspects of Behaviorist theory have influenced the world of education, Behaviorist reinforcement theory still impacts education widely today especially when looking at educational technology.  Skinner (1958) has found that “behavior is shown to be shaped and maintained by its ‘reinforcing’ consequences rather than elicited as conditioned or unconditioned response to stimuli”.  This idea has been molded into many educational practices, and the idea of reinforcement has had many implications for educational technology.  

The utilization of Behaviorist theory in education has changed quite a bit though some aspects remain parallel despite the changing times.  Behaviorism has seen the Teaching Machine Phase, the Programmed Instruction Phase, and the Systems Approach to Instruction.  The Teaching Machine is perhaps of the most interest when examining educational technologies of today, as the machines were very basic versions of what educational software and computers can accomplish now.  The teaching machine was, in essence, a box that sat on student desks that each individual student could use to record answers to certain prompted questions.  Skinner (1958) provided background information about the teaching machines and called them “devices which arrange optimal conditions for self-instruction”.  

The concepts behind the Teaching Machine and modern-day computer gaming software, for example, are fundamentally equal.  The Teaching Machine example allows us to draw such interesting conclusions as there are so many linkages to today’s instruction.

Current Trends of Behaviorism in Educational Technology

Sutton (2003) states that there are many aspects of Behaviorism that are positive and that have led to the development of important instructional technologies. 

Examples of Behaviorism in current trends are instructional software and computer-assisted instruction.  

Shield (2000) also discussed the use of drill and practice tutorials, with individual instructions and feedback drill and practice.  This type of learning, where a “student is rewarded through an encouraging comment before moving on to the next learning objective” (1) is especially apparent in the use of “the computer games that are so highly addictive to teenagers,” (1) as their “learning behavior is being progressively rewarded as each level of the game is mastered” (1).  Shield concluded that “the student's mastering of basic technological terms, descriptions of components, and understanding of theory behind technical processes can be achieved through structured programs delivered through CD-ROMs or similar media.  

Shield summarizes much of what current Behaviorists focus on, stating that it is sometimes necessary to memorize bits of information before higher- level, problem-based learning can take place.  He also brings up the interesting point that much of today’s curriculum focuses on these memorized bits of information, and we can clearly conclude that this is a strong reason why so many Behaviorist practices are still relevant in today’s educational tactics.  

Constructivism

Constructivism, on the other hand, is led by the ideas of Jean Piaget and his theories of the four childhood stages of development.  The theories of Constructivism are founded on the belief that “the child, at first directly assimilating the external environment to his own activity, later, in order to extend this assimilation, forms an increasing number of schemata which are both more mobile and better able to inter-coordinate” (Piaget, 1955).  Led by Piaget’s theory, Constructivists that currently practice education believe more in learning by doing.  If a child is able to experiment for himself, the learning will be more profound.  Constructivists then focus on a different aspect of education than Behaviorists, as Behaviorists focus more on how students respond to positive and negative reinforcement provided through an educator’s planned system of data presentation rather than on letting students be presented with stimuli and seeing how students learn on their own. 

One of the tenets of this philosophy is that learners construct their own meaning from new information, as they interact with reality or others with different perspectives.

Constructivist learning environments require students to utilize their prior knowledge and experiences to formulate new, related, and/or adaptive concepts in learning. Under this framework the role of the teacher becomes that of a facilitator, providing guidance so that learners can construct their own knowledge.

Constructivist educators must make sure that prior learning experience are appropriate and related to the concepts being taught.

Jonassen (1997) suggests “well-structured” learning environments are useful for more novice learners and that “ill-structured” environments are useful only for more advanced learners.

Educators utilizing technology when teaching with a constructivist perspective should choose technologies that reinforce prior learning perhaps in a problem-solving environment.

Current Trends of Constructivism in Educational Technology

There is a huge push toward more of a Constructivist approach, however, when implementing instructional technologies.  There are many supporters of this, and they provide a convincing argument.  “One way forward is to switch our attention from the design of software packages (which act solely as storehouses of information) to an interactive problem-based environment in which the student assumes the key.  With this profile in place, the learning task can be tailored to the student’s capabilities rather than the student having to fit in with the software designer’s generalized understanding of how learning should take place.  The creation of these rich learning environments will also have to ensure that texts, reference sources, multimedia and communication facilities are fully integrated” (Shield, 2000).  

Learning, if taking place in authentic and real-world environments, and with relevance to the learner, is a “primary catalyst of knowledge construction” (Camp, 1999).  We can clearly see the relevance that Constructivist ideals have in today’s educational practices, as real-world Constructivist learning situations are more motivating to students through practical application of knowledge.  There is clearly a need for this learning as well as rote memorization, as much of what students will do as adults relies heavily on practical applications.     

Cognitivism

One of the difficulties of the educator is to effectively teach all students that walk through our classroom doors regardless of previous experiences and prior knowledge. Cognitivism is a learning theory which tries to explain why learners approach learning experiences in different manners but are still able to flourish (Oxendine, Robinson, & Willson, 2004).

Cognitivism works under the assumption that students learn best when they are actively engaged and involved in the learning experience. When students are engaged they are able to gain a deeper understanding of content and use their knowledge to problem-solve and synthesize. With the use of cognitive tools students are able to interact with information as they shift the learning from a computer to learning with a computer (Robertson, Elliot, & Washington, 2007). This difference is crucial as students are now learning to use a computer to enhance their learning to think about information rather than just reproducing and recalling information. Computers are aiding the learning process, not substituting as teachers.

When discussing ways of increasing student engagement and experiences into the learning process there are various technological tools that can be utilized. Using graphic organizers and concept maps offer students the concrete experience needed for cognitive learning to take place. Advance organizers can incorporate pictures, text, sound bites, and even video clips to provide students with a framework to begin and enhance their learning. As advance organizers activate prior knowledge they also develop mental models which allow for students to begin reflecting upon the subject matter which then leads to an abstract understanding (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

Additional tools which lend themselves to cognitivism are summarizing and note taking skills. When teaching summarizing, teachers can use Microsoft Word to type a portion of text into the program. Together, the teacher and students can work together to summarize the text (this is the concrete stage of learning). Next, the teacher can auto summarize the text to see if the students summarized the text in a similar style to the computer (students are now critically reflecting upon their own work). After that the students are then ready for more abstract practice in which they will summarize a paragraph on their own. Leading the students through the summarizing process and moving from concrete to abstract will provide the students a framework in which to draw from for future lessons and activities.

Cognitivism can be used effectively in the classroom when students are engaged in realistic experiences, discussing content, and experimenting with newly formed concepts and experiences (Oxendine, Robinson, & Willson, 2004). Students will remember content much longer when they have had real experiences and hands-on activities to draw from.

References:

• Shield, G. (2000). A critical appraisal of learning technology using information and communication technologies. Journal of Technology Studies.
• Skinner, B. F. (1958). Teaching machines. Science, 128 (3330), (pp. 969-977).
• Sutton, M. J. (2003). Problem representation, understanding, and learning transfer implications for technology education. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 40 (4).
• Oxendine, C., Robinson, J., & Willson, G. (2004). Experiential learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved <2009>.
• Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
• Robertson, B., Elliot, L., & Robinson, D. (2007). Cognitive tools. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved <2009>.

03 Bloom's Taxonomy

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

Bloom's Taxonomy was created in 1956 under the leadership of educational psychologist Dr Benjamin Bloom in order to promote higher forms of thinking in education, such as analyzing and evaluating concepts, processes, procedures, and principles, rather than just remembering facts (rote learning). It is most often used when designing educational, training, and learning processes.

The Three Domains of Learning

The committee identified three domains of educational activities or learning (Bloom, et al. 1956):

Cognitive: mental skills (knowledge)
Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (attitude or self)
Psychomotor: manual or physical skills (skills)

Category	Examples, key words (verbs), and technologies for learning (activities)
Remembering: Recall or retrieve previous learned information.	Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer. Recite the safety rules. Key Words: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels, lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes, reproduces, selects, states Technologies: book marking, flash cards, rote learning based on repetition, reading
Understanding: Comprehending the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.	Examples: Rewrite the principles of test writing. Explain in one's own words the steps for performing a complex task. Translate an equation into a computer spreadsheet. Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends, distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes, gives an example, infers, interprets, paraphrases, predicts, rewrites, summarizes, translates Technologies: create an analogy, participating in cooperative learning, taking notes, storytelling, Internet search
Applying: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work place.	Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee's vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test. Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses Technologies: collaborative learning, create a process, blog, practice
Analyzing: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.	Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in reasoning. Gathers information from a department and selects the required tasks for training. Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares, contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates, discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers, outlines, relates, selects, separates Technologies: Fishbowls, debating, questioning what happened, run a test
Evaluating: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.	Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new budget. Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts, criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates, summarizes, supports Technologies: survey, blogging
Creating: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.	Examples: Write a company operations or process manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task. Integrates training from several sources to solve a problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome. Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes Technologies: Create a new model, write an essay, network with others

The Affective Domain

Category	Example and Key Words (verbs)
Receiving Phenomena: Awareness, willingness to hear, selected attention.	Examples: Listen to others with respect. Listen for and remember the name of newly introduced people. Key Words: acknowledge, asks, attentive, courteous, dutiful, follows, gives, listens, understands
Responds to Phenomena: Active participation on the part of the learners. Attend and react to a particular phenomenon. Learning outcomes may emphasize compliance in responding, willingness to respond, or satisfaction in responding (motivation).	Examples: Participates in class discussions. Gives a presentation. Questions new ideals, concepts, models, etc. in order to fully understand them. Know the safety rules and practice them. Key Words: answers, assists, aids, complies, conforms, discusses, greets, helps, labels, performs, presents, tells
Valuing: The worth or value a person attaches to a particular object, phenomenon, or behavior. This ranges from simple acceptance to the more complex state of commitment. Valuing is based on the internalization of a set of specified values, while clues to these values are expressed in the learner's overt behavior and are often identifiable.	Examples: Demonstrates belief in the democratic process. Is sensitive towards individual and cultural differences (value diversity). Shows the ability to solve problems. Proposes a plan to social improvement and follows through with commitment. Informs management on matters that one feels strongly about. Key Words: appreciates, cherish, treasure, demonstrates, initiates, invites, joins, justifies, proposes, respect, shares
Organization:  Organizes values into priorities by contrasting different values, resolving conflicts between them, and creating an unique value system. The emphasis is on comparing, relating, and synthesizing values.	Examples: Recognizes the need for balance between freedom and responsible behavior. Explains the role of systematic planning in solving problems. Accepts professional ethical standards. Creates a life plan in harmony with abilities, interests, and beliefs. Prioritizes time effectively to meet the needs of the organization, family, and self. Key Words: compares, relates, synthesizes
Internalizes Values (characterization):  Has a value system that controls their behavior. The behavior is pervasive, consistent, predictable, and most important characteristic of the learner. Instructional objectives are concerned with the student's general patterns of adjustment (personal, social, emotional).	Examples: Shows self-reliance when working independently. Cooperates in group activities (displays teamwork). Uses an objective approach in problem solving. Displays a professional commitment to ethical practice on a daily basis. Revises judgments and changes behavior in light of new evidence. Values people for what they are, not how they look. Key Words: acts, discriminates, displays, influences, modifies, performs, qualifies, questions, revises, serves, solves, verifies

The Psychomotor Domain

The psychomotor domain (Simpson, 1972) includes physical movement, coordination, and use of the motor-skill areas. Development of these skills requires practice and is measured in terms of speed, precision, distance, procedures, or techniques in execution. Thus, psychomotor skills rage from manual tasks, such as digging a ditch or washing a car, to more complex tasks, such as operating a complex piece of machinery or dancing.

Category	Example and Key Words (verbs)
Perception (awareness):  The ability to use sensory cues to guide motor activity. This ranges from sensory stimulation, through cue selection, to translation.	Examples:  Detects non-verbal communication cues. Estimate where a ball will land after it is thrown and then moving to the correct location to catch the ball. Adjusts heat of stove to correct temperature by smell and taste of food. Adjusts the height of the forks on a forklift by comparing where the forks are in relation to the pallet. Key Words: chooses, describes, detects, differentiates, distinguishes, identifies, isolates, relates, selects.
Set:  Readiness to act. It includes mental, physical, and emotional sets. These three sets are dispositions that predetermine a person's response to different situations (sometimes called mindsets).	Examples:  Knows and acts upon a sequence of steps in a manufacturing process. Recognize one's abilities and limitations. Shows desire to learn a new process (motivation). NOTE: This subdivision of Psychomotor is closely related with the “Responding to phenomena” subdivision of the Affective domain. Key Words: begins, displays, explains, moves, proceeds, reacts, shows, states, volunteers.
Guided Response:  The early stages in learning a complex skill that includes imitation and trial and error. Adequacy of performance is achieved by practicing.	Examples:  Performs a mathematical equation as demonstrated. Follows instructions to build a model. Responds hand-signals of instructor while learning to operate a forklift. Key Words: copies, traces, follows, react, reproduce, responds
Mechanism (basic proficiency):  This is the intermediate stage in learning a complex skill. Learned responses have become habitual and the movements can be performed with some confidence and proficiency.	Examples:  Use a personal computer. Repair a leaking faucet. Drive a car. Key Words: assembles, calibrates, constructs, dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes, grinds, heats, manipulates, measures, mends, mixes, organizes, sketches.
Complex Overt Response (Expert): The skillful performance of motor acts that involve complex movement patterns. Proficiency is indicated by a quick, accurate, and highly coordinated performance, requiring a minimum of energy. This category includes performing without hesitation, and automatic performance. For example, players are often utter sounds of satisfaction or expletives as soon as they hit a tennis ball or throw a football, because they can tell by the feel of the act what the result will produce.	Examples:  Maneuvers a car into a tight parallel parking spot. Operates a computer quickly and accurately. Displays competence while playing the piano. Key Words: assembles, builds, calibrates, constructs, dismantles, displays, fastens, fixes, grinds, heats, manipulates, measures, mends, mixes, organizes, sketches. NOTE: The Key Words are the same as Mechanism, but will have adverbs or adjectives that indicate that the performance is quicker, better, more accurate, etc.
Adaptation:  Skills are well developed and the individual can modify movement patterns to fit special requirements.	Examples:  Responds effectively to unexpected experiences.  Modifies instruction to meet the needs of the learners. Perform a task with a machine that it was not originally intended to do (machine is not damaged and there is no danger in performing the new task). Key Words: adapts, alters, changes, rearranges, reorganizes, revises, and varies.
Origination:  Creating new movement patterns to fit a particular situation or specific problem. Learning outcomes emphasize creativity based upon highly developed skills.	Examples:  Constructs a new theory. Develops a new and comprehensive training programming. Creates a new gymnastic routine. Key Words: arranges, builds, combines, composes, constructs, creates, designs, initiate, makes, originates.

References:

·      http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html#three_domains

·      Bloom, B.S. (Ed.). Engelhart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., Krathwohl, D.R. (1956).Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc.

·      Dave, R.H. (1970). Psychomotor levels in Developing and Writing Behavioral Objectives, pp.20-21. R.J. Armstrong, ed. Tucson, Arizona: Educational Innovators Press.

·      Harrow, A. (1972) A Taxonomy of Psychomotor Domain: A Guide for Developing Behavioral Objectives. New York: David McKay.

·      Simpson E.J. (1972). The Classification of Educational Objectives in the Psychomotor Domain. Washington, DC: Gryphon House.

02 Bruner's Three-fold Analysis of Experience

BRUNER’S THREE-FOLD ANALYSIS OF EXPERIENCE

		THIRD	THROUGH A SERIES OF SYMBOLS	SYMBOLIC
	SECOND	THROUGH A SERIES OF ILLUSTRATIONS		ICONIC
FIRST	THROUGH  A SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS			ENACTIVE

ENACTIVE- refers to the direct or actual experiences or encounter with what is. This is a life on the raw, rich and unedited. They form the bases for all other learning experiences.

ICONIC- Refers to the more abstract experiences which could be in the form of picture

SYMBOLIC- refers to the use of the words or printed materials which no longer resemble the subject under study.

The BRUNER’S THREE-FOLD ANALYSIS suggests that learning is more impressive if one proceeds from the concrete to abstract, or from specific to general because more senses are involved and the relationships are built in a more pronounced manner.

If we want out students to remember and master what was taught, we cannot ignore what the Cone of Experience reminds us to make use of a combination of many learning resources as we can and to proceed to the abstract only after we have presented the concrete.

Do we have to end in the abstract'? Or should the abstract lead us again to the concrete and the concrete to the abstract again? So learning is from the concrete to the abstract, from the abstract to the concrete and from the concrete to the abstract again? It becomes a cycle.

Reference

https://prezi.com/slun-wp4d2d4/copy-of-three-fold-analysis-of-experience/

01 Dale's Cone of Experience

DALE’s CONE OF EXPERIENCE

Edgar Dale said: “The Cone is a visual analogy, and like all analogies, it does not bear an exact and detailed relationship to the complex elements it represents.”

According to Lucido and Borbado (1997) Hoban and Zissman in the early texts on audio and visual materials, stressed that there is a need to understand the “degree of realism” which it has. They arranged different communications and teaching methods in a hierarchy of greater and greater abstraction (Lucido and Borbado, 1997). They started with “the total situation” and culminating it with “words” at the top of the hierarchy. Edgar Dale adopted the same construct and improved on it by proposing the “Cone of Experience” in 1946.

We can see in his proposed idea that the participant, who is also the receiver, of the communication process is an observer in the actual experience. Then he moves the cone as observing symbols that represent the event (Lucido and Borbado, 1997).

Bruner’s	Dale’s
Symbolic	Verbal Symbols Visual Symbols
Iconic	Recordings Radio Still Pictures Motion Pictures
Enactive	Television Exhibits Field Trips Demonstrations Dramatized Experiences Contrived Experiences Direct, Purposeful Experiences

He said that the participant-receiver could make profitable use of more abstract communication activities to the extent that they had built up a stock of more concrete experiences to give meaning to the more abstract representations of reality.

Audio-visual media help to provide the necessary concrete experiences, while helping the participant-receiver to integrate their prior experiences. For example, a film may show how highways are being constructed. The viewer integrates this film to what he may actually have seen by way of the asphalting of streets in the city.

HOW DO WE ILLUSTRATE THE CONE OF EXPERIENCE?

Dale’s cone of experience of is a visual model, a pictorial device that presents various experiences that is set following a degree of abstraction and not level of difficulty. (Lucido and Borbado, 1997)

We can choose instructional methods more appropriately by thinking of our options in terms of concreteness and our audience/ learner’s readiness to profit from more and less concrete experiences. At the middle level are the audio-visual materials, substituting visual images for the real thing, leading to iconic learning. Printed materials, with their verbal symbols, are more abstract.

Edgar Dale deepens his explanation by stating that “the individual bands of the Cone of Experiencestand for experiences that are fluid, extensive, and continually interact.” (Dale, 1969) Corpuz and Lucido (2001) suggest that it should not be taken literally in its simplified form. They said that the “different kinds of sensory aid often overlap and sometimes blend into one another”. Motion Pictures can be silent or they can combine sight and sound. Furthermore, they stressed that students “may merely view a demonstration or they may view it and them participate.”

            We need to clarify that Cone of Experience mean that not all teaching and learning should move systematically from the base to the pinnacle or from the direct purposeful experiences to verbal symbols.

Dale (1969) would say that we go back and forth to different kinds of experiences. We acquire new experiences everyday even in our simple and basic activities. When we teach, we do not only start from the base of the cone. Rather, we begin with the kind of experience that is most appropriate to the needs and abilities of the learner who is unique in his learning. Each student learns in various learning activities that suits their level and giftedness.

(Lifted from: Lucido, P and Corpuz, C. 2007. Educational Technology 1. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing Inc.)

Direct Purposeful Experience	These are first hand experiences which serve as the foundation of our learning. We build up our reservoir of meaningful information and ideas through seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling. In the context of the teaching-learning process, it is leaning by doing. If I want my student to learn how to focus a compound microscope, I will let him focus one of course, after I showed him.
Contrived Experiences	We make use of representative models or mock ups of reality for practical reasons and so that we can make the real-life accessible to the students’ perception and understanding. For instance, a mockup of Apollo, the capsule for exploration of the moon, enabled the North American Aviation Co. to study the problem of lunar flight. Recall how you were taught how to read time. Your teacher might have used a mocked clock. Those whose hands you could turn to set the time you were instructed to set.
Dramatized Experience	By dramatization, we can participate in a reconstructed experience, even though the original event is far removed from us in time. We relive the outbreak of the Philippine revolution by acting out the role of characters in the drama.
Demonstrations	It is visualized explanation of an important fact, idea or process by the use of photographs, drawings, films, displays, or guided motions. It is showing how things are done. A teacher in physical education shows the class how to dance tango.
Study Trips	These are excursions and visits conducted to observe an event that is unavailable within the classroom.
Exhibits	These are displays to be seen by spectators. They may consist of working models arranged meaningfully or photographs with models, charts, and posters. Sometimes, exhibits are “for your eyes only”. There are some exhibits, however, that include sensory experiences where expectators are allowed to touch or manipulate models displayed.
Television and Motion Pictures	Television and motion pictures can reconstruct reality of the past so effectively that we are made to feel we are there. The unique value of the messages communicated by film and television lies in their feeling of realism, their emphasis on the persons and personality, their organized presentation, and their ability to select, dramatize, highlight, and clarify.
Still Pictures, Recordings, Radio	These are visual and auditory devices which may be used by an individual or a group. Still pictures lack the sound and motion of a sound film. The radio broadcast of an actual event may often be likened to a televised broadcast minus its visual dimension.
Visual Symbols	These are no longer realistic reproduction of physical things of these are highly abstract representations. These are charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams.
Verbal Symbols	They are not like the objects or ideas for which they stand. They usually do not contain visual clues to their meaning. Written words fall under this category. It may be a world for a concrete object (book), an idea (freedom of speech), a scientific principle (the principle of balance), a formula (e=mc­­­­2)

What are the implications of Cone of Experience in the teaching-learning process?

1.    We do not use only one medium of communication in isolation. Rather we use many instructional materials to help the student conceptualize his experience.

2.    We avoid teaching directly at the symbolic level of thought without adequate foundation of the concrete. Students’ concepts will lack deep roots in the direct experience. Dale cautions us when he said: “These rootless experiences will not have the generative power to produce additional concepts and will not enable the learner to deal with the new situations that he faces.” (Dale, 1969)

3.    When teaching, we do not get stuck in the concrete, Let us strive to bring our students to the symbolic or abstract level to develop their higher order thinking skills.

If we want our students to remember and maser what was taught, we cannot ignore that the Cone of Experience reminds us: to make use of a combination of as many learning resources as we can and to proceed to the abstract only after we have presented the concrete. Do we have to end in the abstract? Or should the abstract lead us again to the concrete and the concrete to the abstract again? So learning is from the concrete to the abstract, from the abstract to the concrete and from the concrete to abstract again? It becomes a cycle.

The process of teaching and learning is a complex mental process. One cannot easily determine whether it is taking place or not. Benjamin Bloom devised a way to concretize the results by his classified educational objectives. According to him it should be specific, observable, measurable, researchable, and time-bounded terms. Another educationalist Jerome Bruner, a noted educator also devised his own version of the Cone of Experience in which he called threefold analysis.

Enactive	Refers to direct actual experiences or encounters with what is. This is life on the raw, rich and unedited. They form the bases for all other learning experiences. (Example actual tying and then examining of a square knot by boy scouts during camp activities
Iconic	Refers to more abstract experiences which could be the form of pictures. (Example: identifying the picture of a square knot) the experience can be readily identified by the learner because he had previous actual experience with it. And the picture shows a resemblance of the actual object.
Symbolic	Refers to the use of worlds or printed materials which no longer resemble the object under study. Example: the word – square-knot. The learner can form a mental image about it. Thus he will be able to comprehend what it means.

•          The Cone of Experience is a visual model, a pictorial device that presents bands of experience arranged according to degree of abstraction and not degree of difficulty

•          This model incorporates several theories related to instructional design and learning processes

•          This was introduced by Edgar Dale (1946) in his textbook on audio visual methods in teaching.

•          Dale made minor modifications of the visual in the second edition (1954) changing Dramatic Participation to Dramatized Experience and adding Television.

•          By the third edition of the textbook, Dale (1969) acknowledged the growing popularity of Jerome Bruner’s (1966) cognitive psychology concepts by overlaying Bruner’s classification system for modes of learning – enactive, iconic, and symbolic – on top of his own categories.

•          During the 1960s, Edgar Dale theorized that learners retain more information by what they “do” as opposed to what is “heard”, “read” or “observed”. His research led to the development of the Cone of Experience.

•          Today, this “learning by doing” has become known as “experiential learning” or “action learning”.

How can Instructors Use the Cone of Experience?

•          According to Dale’s research, the least effective method at the top, involves learning from information presented through verbal symbols, i.e., listening to spoken words.

•          The most effective methods at the bottom, involves direct, purposeful learning experiences, such as hands-on or field experience.

•          Direct purposeful experiences represents reality or the closest to real, everyday life.

•          The chart rates the average retention rate for various methods of teaching. The further ones progresses down the cone, the greater the learning and the more information is likely to be retained.

•          It also suggests that when choosing an instructional method it is important to remember that involving students in the process strengthens knowledge retention.

•          It reveals that “action learning” techniques result in up to 90% retention. People learn best when they use perceptual learning styles. Perceptual learning styles are sensory based. The more sensory channels possible in interacting with a resource, the better chance that many students can learn from it.

•          According to Dale, instructors should design instructional activities that build upon more real-life experiences.

•          Dale’s cone of experience is a tool to help instructors make decisions about resources and activities.

The instructor can ask the following:

•          Where will student’s experience with this instructional resource fit on the cone? How far is it removed from real-life?

•          What kind of learning experience do you want to provide in the classroom?

•          How does this instructional resource augment the information supplied by the textbook?

•          What and how many senses can students use to learn this instructional material?

•          Does the instructional material enhance learning?

•          Jerome Bruner (1966) presented a similar idea, emphasizing the mental operations of learners. Bruner suggested that successfully “thinking” at abstract levels involved progressing from related direct experiences (enactive), through related iconic experiences, and then into the realm of abstraction

References:

·         Dale’s Cone of Experience by Anderson, Heidi M.  University of Kentucky

·         Cone of Experience by Molenda, Michael Indiana University

·         Garo, C. 2007. Teaching Educational Technology. Mandaluyong City: National Bookstore, Inc.

·         Lucido, P  and Borabo, M. 1997. Educational Technology. Quezon City: Katha Publishing Co., Inc.

·         Lucido, P and Corpuz, C. 2007. Educational Technology 1. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing Inc.

·         Roblyer, M. 2006. Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.