Cone of Experience Edgar Dale PEOPLE GENERALLY REMEMBER: Cone of Experience Edgar Dale 10% of what they read Read 20% of what they hear Hear Words PASSIVE Watch still pictures 30% of what they see Watch moving pictures View exhibit 50% of what they hear and see Watch demonstration 70% of what they say and write Give a talk Adapted from Edgar Dale (1960), Audiovisual Methods in Teaching. 1969, NY: Dryden Press. Dale is often cited as the “father of modern media” in education. This model incorporates several theories related to instructional design and learning processes. During the 1960s, 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. The cone is based on the relationships of various educational experiences to reality (real life). The bottom level of the cone—”direct purposeful experiences”—represents reality, or the closet thing to real, everyday life. Each level above moves the learner a step farther away from a real-life experience. Also, the opportunity for the learner to use a variety of senses is considered in the cone. Direct experience allows us to use all senses. As you move up the cone, fewer senses are involved. The more sensory channels possible in interacting with a resource, the better chance that many students can learn from it. Participate in a discussion ACTIVE 90% of what they say and do as they perform a task Role play a situation Simulate a real experience Do the real thing