DIRECT, PURPOSEFUL

EXPERIENCES AND BEYOND

Prepared by:
Maria Therese Lou Abucay
Maria Richenette Alejandria-Rallos
Kristie Paula Marie Maranan-Rojas
“From the rich experiences that
our senses bring, we construct
the ideas, the concept, the
generalizations that give
meaning and order to our
lives.”
How did
you learn
your skills?
What are referred to as direct, purposeful
experience?

• Direct experiences are firsthand

experiences that serve as the foundation of
learning.

• Direct experiences lead us to concept

formation and abstraction. We should not
end our lessons knowing only the concrete.
We go beyond concrete by reaching the
level of abstract concepts.
• These are the rich experiences that our
senses bring from which we construct the
ideas, the generalizations that give
meaning and order to our lives (Dale, 1969)

• They are sensory experiences.

 Examples of Direct Purposeful Activities

Preparing meals or snacks Performing a laboratory experiment

Delivering a speech

Taking a trip
Direct experiences are basically what the
students can learn by doing it. This way of
teaching is known to be the most effective
way of teaching the students because
experiences are the best teacher.
Purpose of Direct, Purposeful Experiences

 It serves as the foundation of concept

formation, generalization and abstraction.

 It leads us to concept formation and

abstraction.

 Its aim is to develop higher level thinking

skills.
Indirect Experiences or Vicarious Experiences

 They are experiences of other people.

 They are not our own self experiences but

still experiences in the sense that we see,
read and hear about them. They are not
firsthand but rather vicarious experiences.
Indirect experience example

We can learn dancing through watching

video.
Reasons that direct experiences is described
to be purposeful:

 Purposeful because the experiences are not

purely mechanical
 Purposeful because these experiences are
undergone in relation to a purpose i.e.
learning
 It is directly experience by the learners using
the five senses
 It is because your actual experience
If direct, purposeful experiences or firsthand
sensory experiences make us learn concepts
and skills effectively, what does this imply to
the teaching-learning process?

 Let us give our students opportunities to

learn by doing.

 Let us make use real things as instructional

materials for as long as we can.
 Let us help the students develop the senses
to the full.

 Let us guide our students so that they can

draw meaning from their firsthand
experiences and elevate their level of
thinking.
The Cone of experience implies that we move from the
concrete to the abstract (and from the abstract to the
concrete as well.) Direct experiences serves as the
foundation of concepts formation, generalization and
abstraction. John Dewey (1916) has made this fundamental
point succinctly.

An ounce of experience is better a ton of theory because it is

only in experience that any theory has vital and verifiable
significance. An experience, a very humble experience, is
capable of generating and carrying any amount of theory (or
intellectual content), but a theory apart from an experience
cannot be definitely grasped as a theory. It tends to become
a mere verbal formula, a set of catchwords used to render
thinking or genuine theorizing unnecessary and impossible.
THANK YOU