The Cone of Experience is presented

in its inverted form such that the base

is broader than its apex. It is made up
of eleven bands which are arranged in
an increasing degree of abstractions
as one move from the base to the apex
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. The farther you go from
the bottom of the cone, the more abstract the
experience becomes.
Dale (1969) asserts that the pattern of arrangement of
the bands of experience is not difficulty but degree of
abstraction - the amount of immediate sensory
participation that is involved A still photograph of a
tree is not more difficult to understand than a
dramatization of Hamlet It is simply in itself a less
concrete teaching material than the dramatization
What are the implications of the 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 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 don't 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.
Three pitfalls that teachers should avoid with
regard to the use of the Cone of Experience:
using one medium in isolation.
moving to the abstract without an adequate
foundation of concrete experience.
getting stuck in the concrete without moving to the
abstract hampering the development of our students'
higher thinking skills.

Three fold Analysis of Experience by
Jerome Bruner
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.


THIRD

THROUGH A SERIES
OF SYMBOLS


SYMBOLIC

SECOND

THROUGH A SERIES OF
ILLUSTRATIONS


ICONIC


FIRST


THROUGH A SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS

ENACTIVE
BRUNERS THREE- FOLD ANALYSIS
OF EXPERIENCE
BRUNERS THREE- FOLD ANALYSIS
OF EXPERIENCE
ICONIC
SYMBOLIC
ENACTIVE
INCREASING
ABSTACTION
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C
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C
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D
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The BRUNERS 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
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 the abstract again? It becomes a cycle.