The Learning Pyramid - the Myth Cheat Sheet by [Deleted] Via Cheatography.Com/2754/Cs/5225

The Learning Pyramid - The Myth Cheat Sheet by [deleted] via cheatography.com/2754/cs/5225/

History of the Learning Pyramid Conceptual model took on a life of its own (cont)

Edgar Dale, an expert in audiovi sual education, created a model in Phillips returned to work after the war to the University of Texas, his 1946 book Audio-V isual Methods in Teaching that he named the where he trained members of the petroleum industry. The University Cone of Experience to discuss various modalit ies /ch annels of of Texas records tie Phillips to the retention rates used in the imparting informa tion. His cone did not refer to learning or retention pyramid. However, when Michael Molenda contacted both the at all, instead modelling levels of abstrac tion: words being the most University of Texas Division of Extension and the archivist at the abstract in his model, at the top of the cone, and real-life experie nces Aberdeen Proving Ground, they could find no research regarding the the most concrete, and at the base of the cone (Lalley & Miller, 2007, percent ages.. In Molenda’s history, the learning pyramid with p. 68). retention rates was first published in a magazine article in 1967, by D. G. Treichler. The author included no citations or evidence to back From a post nyCandice Benjes- Small, Head of Informa tion Literacy up the retention rates, but Molenda suspects that they probably they and Outreach, and Alyssa Archer, Instruc tion Librarian at Radford came from Phillips, as he distrib uted training materials to the industry Univers ity. while at UT. http:// acr log .or g/2 014 /01 /13 /ta les -of -th e-u nde ad- lea rni ng- the ori es- th‐ However, the current propagator of the learning pyramid is the e-le arn ing -py ram id/ #co mments unassoc iated NLT Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, which claims to have research from the early 1960s which supports the Conceptual model took on a life of its own pyramid, but has lost the evidence. Will Thalheimer points out in an Unfortu nat ely, this conceptual model took on a life of its own. While excellent post on the pyramid, that this lack of evidence negates all Dale included caveats in the several editions of his work that the credibi lity. Even if research were conducted at one time, we cannot Cone was a theoret ical model, and that multiple modes could apply trust it. The context has been lost, as well as the ability to retest the to situations depending on the context, his work was ripe to be method and examine it for errors.. misused as a practical tool. As Michael Molenda notes, by the third edition of Audio-V isual Materials in Teaching in 1969, Dale had to Dale's Original Cone include a full six pages of disclai mers regarding the cone, titled “Some Possible Misconc ept ions.”. Despite Dale’s warnings, the Cone of Experience was misapplied and renamed the Learning Pyramid. However, there is no conclusive evidence to back up these average retention rates. How did this happen? Who first came up with the retention rates associated with the learning pyramid is murky, but researc hers have theories. Molenda (working with several sources) believes the develop ment involved Paul John Phillips, an instructor working at the Aberdeen Proving Ground’s Training Methods Branch during World War II.

Looking at the original image: note that there are no percent ages listed, this is purely a theoret ical model. Dale did not value one mode over another, but argued for a wide variety of modes depending on context (Molenda, 2004, p. 161). Researc hers speculate that Dale based the Cone on an earlier theoret ical graph from 1937’s Visual‐ izing the Curricu lum, by Charles F. Hoban, Charles F. Hoban, Jr., and Samuel B Zisman

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Dale's Cone Enhanced Grains of Truth

So should we throw away the learning pyramid? Although we hope we have debunked the idea of that different methods of teaching will lead to set percent ages of learning, we think this myth does address some valuable ideas: 1. Memory matters. One of the best ways to measure learning is to assess the retention of material covered. We should continue to survey the literature on memory and retention, such as the 2013 article, “Improving students’ learning with effective learning techni‐ ques: Promising directions from cognitive and educati onal psycho‐ logy.” 2. Think multimo dal. As has been mentioned, Dale did not intend to There is no valid statist ical studies to back up the percent ages create a hierarchy of mental activit ies, but to suggest there was a assigned to the pyramid. continuum from which to choose. People’s attention spans are short, but they do tend to retain more when the instructor mixes it up: What’s the Harm? intersp ersing short lectures with peer collabo rat ion, or after reading a The pyramid leads one to believe that mental activities themselves passage, interac ting with an online tutorial. produce set amounts of learning. But this mindset fails to address 3. Student engagem ent. The literature strongly supports that active the quality of the mental activity. A librarian might decide to learning exercises promote students thinking and caring about the implement a peer coaching activity because the pyramid says material. This greatly aids retention, but it also helps lessen library teaching others is the best way to remember something, but if the anxiety and gives students a more positive feeling about the library students don’t have the appropr iate knowledge, they will probably sessions. just end up confusing each other. You should never design a lesson just so students are “active.” As Bill Cerbin states in his essay on active learning research and it’s implica tions for college teaching, “Active learning is most effective when the experience supports students to interact with and reflect on the subject matter in substa‐ ntive ways.”.