2.  1946, 1st Edition of
Audiovisual Methods
in Teaching
 1954, 2nd Edition of
Audiovisual Methods
in Teaching
 1969, 3rd Edition of
Audiovisual Methods
in Teaching

3. Perhaps the Cone of Experience has already helped to
remind you of some important ideas about
communication, learning, and concept development.
But like all reminders, the Cone carries the dangers of
oversimplification... [do] not mistake the Cone device
for an exact rank-order of learning processes. You
will understand that the Cone classifies instructional
messages only in terms of greater or lesser
concreteness and abstractness.
1
From Dale, 1969, p. 128

4. Q Does the Cone device mean that all teaching and learning
must move systematically from base to pinnacle?
A Emphatically no. As we have noted, young children
use many simple abstractions-verbal symbols. Before
entering school they have mastered the meanings of
at least 2500 words, or verbal symbols, each one of
which is an abstraction. The fact that something is an
abstraction does not necessarily make it difficult to
understand. Actually, there are wide variations in
degree of difficulty.
2
From Dale, 1969, p. 128

5. Q Can we overemphasize the amount of direct experience that
is required to learn a new concept?
A Yes, this is a danger. Perhaps the new abstraction can
be mastered with less firsthand experience than you
might think necessary. Indeed, too much reliance on
concrete experience may actually obstruct the process
of meaningful generalization. Certainly a
mathematician could not develop a system of higher
mathematics by counting on his fingers.
3
From Dale, 1969, p. 130

6. Q Are the upper levels of the Cone for the older student and
the lower ones for the child?
A It is true that the older a person is, the more abstract
his concepts are likely to be. We can explain this
developmental change by a greater physical
maturation, greater opportunity for vivid
experiences, and (in certain circumstances) greater
motivation for learning. But an older student does
not live exclusively in the world of his abstract
concepts, just as a child does not live only through the
impressions his senses give him. The shuttling
process, in fact, continues not only through the
learning of a particular concept, but throughout all
life. And this interaction is an indication of the nature
and complexity of concepts themselves. (continued
on next slide)
4
From Dale, 1969, p. 130

7. Q Are the upper levels of the Cone for the older student and
the lower ones for the child?
A (Continued from previous slide) Instructional materials
at all levels of the Cone can help us to extend the web
of relationships that our concepts involve. Even the
most advanced student, therefore, can deepen his
understanding of concepts and his enjoyment of life
by participating in experiences all along our Cone. …
the Cone of Experience stands for activities that are
available, in varying degrees, to learners in all age
groups.
5
From Dale, 1969, p. 132

8. Q Does the Cone of Experience overemphasize instructional devices (the
media of communication) at the expense of subject matter (the
message to be communicated)?
A Actually, use of the Cone may lead to an enhancement of our
subject matter presentations. Indeed, the Cone may help us to
choose the instructional materials that are most appropriate for
the particular topic we wish to teach. The Cone can help us to
understand these relationships between media and the
messages they convey. It suggests, in fact, that various
instructional materials differ in the degree of sensory
experience they are able to provide. Our selection of
instructional materials, therefore, will depend on the amount
of sensory experience we wish to provide for a particular topic
of our lesson. And the Cone can help us "place" a teaching
method; it can help us select the way of communicating most
suited to the experience we wish to convey.
6
From Dale, 1969, p. 132

9. Our understanding of the Cone of Experience, moreover, will
remind us of a fundamental principle for our teaching: We do
not use any one medium of communication in isolation.
Rather, we use many instructional materials to help the
student conceptualize his experience so that he can deal with it
effectively. The Cone suggests that concept development can
proceed from experiences with any specific instructional
material. It often follows, then, that the more numerous and
varied the media we employ, the richer and more secure will
be the concepts we develop. Well-chosen instructional
materials of various kinds can provide a variety of experiences
that enhance the learning of a given subject for any student at
any given point in his continuing development.
7
From Dale, 1969, p. 133

10. We conclude, then, that the Cone of Experience is
visual model, a pictorial device that may help you to
think critically about the ways in which concepts are
developed. Indeed, you may now be able to apply
your ideas about the relationships of interesting,
meaningful experiences and abstract, highly symbolic
representations.
8
From Dale, 1969, p. 134

11.  Students brought to our classes handouts of
“alternative” Cones of Learning with different names
for levels in the Cone.
 Internet Searches revealed “Interesting” percentages
applied to the Cone.
 They all looked “kind of the same.”
 Did they know something we (and Dale) didn’t???
 The following slides show examples of various
Cones we have encountered:

12. 10/25/1999
San Leandro, California
Reference: Wiman and Meirhenry, 1960.

13.  At the next level, we find that we are reaching the place
where activity and application make our use of
information "real" to us. Bruce Nyland in the 1950’s
studied what kinds of information people remember the
most and for the longest period of time. He concluded
that when students "do the real thing," "simulate" the
real thing, or teach others what they have learned, the
retention rate is about 90% of what was taught.
 Note: Bruce Nyland died in 1998 at the age of 62. He
was 14 years old in 1950 and 23 in 1959.

14.  #3. Crystal
Kuykendall, Ed.D, J.D.
 The Mid-Atlantic Equity Center, School of
Education, The American University
 Improving Black
Student Achievement
By Enhancing
Student's Self Image
 http://www.nwrel.org/
cnorse/booklets/achi
eve/table6.html

15.  Lower levels of the cone involve the student as a participant and encourage active learning.
 Lower levels include more stimuli and are richer with regard to natural feedback - the
consequences of an action.
 Higher levels compress information and provide more data faster for those able to process it.
 Pictures are remembered (recalled) better than verbal propositions.
 Pictures aid in recalling information that has been associated with them
 Upper levels of the cone need more instructional support than lower levels.

16. No Reference Given

19. Course: 603 Family: Middle and Later Years
http://gozips.uakron.edu/~mrainey/603les~1.htm
DALE'S CONE OF EXPERIENCE
People Generally Remember ?**
10% of what they read. Read Verbal Receiving
20% of what they hear. Hear Words
30% of what they see. Watch still picture
Watch moving picture Visual
Watch exhibit Receiving
50% of what they
hear and see. Watch demonstration
70% of what Do a site visit.
they say or Do a dramatic presentation. Hearing,
write. Saying,
Seeing &
90% of what Simulate a real experience. Doing
they say Do the real thing.
as they
do a
thing.
?** ?**
Wiman and Meirhenry. (1969) contains reference to Edgar Dales's "Cone of Experience."
**Question marks refer to the unknown.

20. #9.
 http://ohioline.osu.edu/4h-fact/0018.html
 The Edgar Dale Cone of Experience summarizes how
learners retain information. A person remembers 10% of what
they read, 20% of what they heard, 30% of what they seen
and 50% of what is seen and heard.
 This is the first only “cone” reference when searching the
OSU site for “Edgar Dale.”
 Ohio State is the Home of the Edgar Dale Media Center.

21. #10. Why Choose Talk Tools? It Works
http://www.talktools.com/whychoose/works.html
Studies have shown that how information is presented determines the
retention level of the information. The Cone of Learning Theory, explains
the likelihood of retaining information, based on the method of delivery.
When simply spoken to in a presentation we retain 30% of what is said. If
this information is also presented in a visual format, our retention level of
this information increases to 50%. When we also actively receive and
participate in the presentation, retention increases to 70%. Finally, retention
is maximized to 90% when we practice what we've learned.
Source: Dale and Nyland, 1985.

22.  http://www.econtentmag.net/r19/2002/delancie8_02.html
A similar endorsement is voiced by Matthew Gale, who handles strategic
product marketing for Web and interactive solutions at Discreet, the San
Francisco maker of content creation solutions for video, animation, and 3D. He
describes streaming media as "another way to communicate experiences,
knowledge, ideas, messages, and stories. This medium allows companies to
deliver compelling multimedia information across vast distances—in real time
or near real time—to implementers, influencers, and decision-makers.
Companies can richly communicate custom messages to all the key
stakeholders while improving workforce knowledge and productivity."
As evidence of streamed multimedia's efficiency, Gale cites "classic
research" published by Wiman and Mierhenry in 1969. "The study found
that people remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30%
of what they see, and 50% of what they hear and see."

23.  http://www.ciconline.org/uploads/CIC_REPORT.pdf
From pp. 15-16
Researchers posit that explanations in words and pictures, as opposed to
words or pictures, make for increased comprehension (Mayer, 2001) for
the learner. Dale’s “Cone of Experience” (1946, 1996) provides
evidence of these phenomena. Dale’s research suggested that increasing
the modalities by which content was presented could increase retention
rates. Wiman and Mierhenry (1969) extended Dale’s concept to
conclude that people will generally remember
•10 percent of what they read
•20 percent of what they hear
•30 percent of what they see
•50 percent of what they hear and see

24.  Brought to you by the Active Learning
Online team at
 the ACU Adams Center for Teaching
Excellence
 ACU Box 29201 Abilene, TX 79699-9201

25.  Spring/Summer 2002
 10% of what we hear.
 15% of what we see.
 20% of what we both see and hear.
 40% of what we discuss
 80% of what we experience directly or
practice doing.
 90% of what we attempt to teach others
 Source: Brady (1989)

26.  We Remember:
 5% Lecture
14 Sources:(and counting)
 10% What we read
 15% What we see
Wiman and Mierhenry, 1969
 20% Audio-Visual
 20% What we see and hear Wiman and Mierhenry, 1960
 20% What we hear
 26% What we hear Glasser, 1990
 30% What we see
 30% Passive Verbal Standard Oil of NY
 30% Demonstration
 40% What we discuss Socony-Vacuum Oil Company
 50% Visual Receiving
 50% See and hear Dale and Nyland, 1985
 50% Discussion Group
 70% Discuss with others Bruce Nyland, 2000
 70% Active Receiving and Participating
 70% Say Bruce Nyland, 1950’s
 70% Say and Write
 70% Say or Write
Nyland/Dole, 1972
 70% Say as they talk
 75% Practice by Doing
 80% Experience Personally
Dale Edgar
 80% What we experience directly or practice doing
 90% Say as they do a thing
NTL Institute
 90% Say and perform a task
 90% Teach to others/Immediate Use James Stice, 1984 Seminar
 90% What we attempt to teach others
 95% of what we teach someone else Gustafson, 1985
Brady, 1989

27. Contact Information:
Tony Betrus - betrusak@potsdam.edu
Al Januszewski - janusza@potsdam.edu
State University of New York at Potsdam
Department of Information and Communication Technology
Download the presentation, after November 18th, at:
http://www2.potsdam.edu/educ/betrusak/aect2002/dalescone.html