Think out of the box—these five-word phrase means thinking beyond what is normal, usual, and common. It is a statement usually uttered in brainstorming discussions, when people want to get something extraordinary, creative, and unique.
Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience is a model that shows eleven (11) stages starting from concrete experiences until it becomes abstract as it reach the peak of the cone. According to Dale, the arrangement of the cone is not based on its difficulty but on its level of abstraction and the number of senses involved. One of the core principles of the Cone of Experience is that in learning, the more senses involved in learning, the better the learning is.
It says that after two weeks, people tend to remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we say, and 90% of what we say and what we do. For instance, when a Science teacher teachers electric circuits, it is better to let students make a sample electric circuit on their own.
For other subjects like Science, I assume that it is quite easy to apply. That is because Science has a lot of concepts that can be turned into concrete samples. Science is in everything and the world is its first example.
However, that does not mean that we, English language teachers, have no right to experiment and create innovative learning situations to our students. It is important to take note of Dale’s Cone of Experience since it gives us better insights on handling our students.
First, it reminds us to focus neither on concrete or abstract experiences alone. Concrete experiences are a good way of teaching students when your lesson is all about concepts and processes since these two can be found in the actual world. Abstract experiences are a good way in teaching language and literature. But for teaching to be more effective, we have to combine both concrete and abstract experiences as it will lead to students’ holistic development.
Moreover, the visual model also sends its message that students need concrete experiences before it can move into abstract experiences. Concrete experiences include dramatic presentation, simulating the real experience, doing the real thing, participating in a discussion, giving a talk, watching a movie, looking at exhibit, and watching a demonstration. On the other hand, abstract experience include seeing, hearing words, and reading. That is why it is vital for grade school teaches to give young students concrete experiences so that they can be more prepared and more learned before they enter secondary schooling.
Also, students nowadays have been consumed by social media that even inside the classrooms, they are itching to look and use their gadgets. I think that creating exciting activities will make them more interested in studying again.
This is probably a challenge for English language teachers to brainstorm about teaching strategies and methods that go beyond what has been usually applied to classrooms like reading lengthy stories and writing lengthy lectures.
Therefore, the challenge lies in thinking and teaching out of the box.
By: Anna Liza F. Layno | Teacher III | JEAG MHS
