Dales Cone of Experience
PerspectiveS for Pharmacy Educators
Excellence Teaching Successful
Dale’s Cone of Experience
Heidi Milia Anderson, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Education Innovation, University of Kentucky
Description. Dale’s Cone of Experience is a model that incorporates several theories related to instructional design and learning processes. 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”. The cone is diagramed and explained in the next sections.
Cone of Experience People generally remember 10% of what they Read Learners are able to (Learning Outcomes):
Read Text
20% of what they Hear
Define Describe List Explain
Listen to Lecture (Hear)
30% of what they See
Watch still pictures Watch moving pictures Demonstrate Apply Practice
50% of what they See and Hear
View exhibit Watch demonstration
70% of what they Say and Write
Participate in a hands-on workshop i Role-play a situation
Analyze Design Create Evaluate
Concrete
Model or Simulate a Real Experience
90% of what they Do as they perform a task
Direct Purposeful Experience -- Go through the real experience
Source: Adapted from E. Dale, Audiovisual Methods in Teaching, 1969, NY: Dryden Press.
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 closet things to real, everyday life. The cone charts the average retention rate for various methods of teaching. The further you
Excellence Teaching Successful
Dale’s Cone of Experience
Heidi Milia Anderson, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Education Innovation, University of Kentucky
Description. Dale’s Cone of Experience is a model that incorporates several theories related to instructional design and learning processes. 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”. The cone is diagramed and explained in the next sections.
Cone of Experience People generally remember 10% of what they Read Learners are able to (Learning Outcomes):
Read Text
20% of what they Hear
Define Describe List Explain
Listen to Lecture (Hear)
30% of what they See
Watch still pictures Watch moving pictures Demonstrate Apply Practice
50% of what they See and Hear
View exhibit Watch demonstration
70% of what they Say and Write
Participate in a hands-on workshop i Role-play a situation
Analyze Design Create Evaluate
Concrete
Model or Simulate a Real Experience
90% of what they Do as they perform a task
Direct Purposeful Experience -- Go through the real experience
Source: Adapted from E. Dale, Audiovisual Methods in Teaching, 1969, NY: Dryden Press.
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 closet things to real, everyday life. The cone charts the average retention rate for various methods of teaching. The further you
References: Diamond, Robert M. Designing and Improving Courses and Curricula in Higher Education. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1989. Dale, Edgar. Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching, 3rd ed., Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1969, p. 108 Bruner, Jerome S. Toward a Theory of Instruction, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1966, p. 49.