Lesson 8

Teaching with Contrived Experiences

Introduction

     If for one reason or another, we cannot employ direct experiences as materials for instruction, let us make use of an "edited" version of direct experiences, the contrived experiences.

Abstraction

     The model of the atom, the globe, the planetarium, the simulated election process and the preserved specimen fall under contrived experiences, the second band of experiences in Dale's Cone of Experience.

Contrived Experiences - these are "edited" copies of reality and are used as substitutes for real things when it is not practical or do the real thing in the classroom. These are designed to simulate to real life situation.

These include:

Model 

 - is a reproduction of a real thing in a small scale, or large scale or exact size. It is a substitute for a real thing which may or may not be operational.

Mock-up 

 - is an arrangement of real device or associated devices, displayed in such a way that representation of reality is created. The mock-up may be simplified in order to emphasize certain features.

 - Is a special model where the pars of a model are single out, heightened and magnified in order to focus on that part or process under study.

Specimen

 - is any individual or item considered typical of a group, class or whole.

Objects

 - may also include artifacts displayed in a museum or objects displayed in exhibits or preserved insect's specimen in science.

Simulation

 - is a representation of manageable real event in which the learner is active participants engage in learning a behavior or in applying previously acquired skills or knowledge.

 - simulations need not have a winner.

 - seem to be more easily applied to study of issues rather than to process.

Games

 - played to win

 - are used of any of these purposes

Purposes:

• To practice and/or to refine knowledge/skills already a acquire
• To identify gaps or weaknesses in knowledge or skills
• To serve as a summation or review
• To develop new relationships among concepts and principles

Why do we make use of contrived experiences?

     We use models, mock-ups, specimen and objects to:

1. Overcome limitation of space and time
2. To edit "reality" for use to be able to focus on parts or a process of a system that we intend to study
3. To overcome difficulties of size
4. To understand the inaccessible, and
5. Help the learners understand abstractions