MODULE NO.
6
Direct, Purposeful Experience
and Beyond
Lessons and Coverage
In this module, you will take the following lessons:
Lesson 1. Direct, Purposeful Experiences
What are referred to as direct, purposeful experiences?
Why are these direct experience described to be purposeful?
In this lessons, you will do the following
Lesson 1 Explain direct purposeful
experiences.
Know what direct, purposeful
experiences are.
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOME
To do well in this module, you need to demonstrate an understanding of:
1. The direct, purposeful experiences in real world application.
2. The help of direct, purposeful experiences in learning real thing.
MODULE 6
Direct, Purposeful Experience
and Beyond
What are referred to as direct, purposeful experiences?
These are our and first-hand experiences that make up the foundation of our
learning. These are the rich experiences that our senses bring from which we
construct the ideas, the concepts, the generalizations that give meaning and order
to our lives. (Dale, 1969). They are sensory experiences.
These direct activities may be preparing meals, making a piece of furniture, doing
powerpoint presentation, performing a laboratory experiment, delivering a speech,
or taking a trip.
In contrast, indirect experiences are experiences of other people that we observe,
read or hear about. They are not our own self-experiences but still experiences in
the sense that we see, read and hear about them. They are not first-hand but rather
vicarious or indirect experiences.
Climbing a mountain is first-hand, direct experience. Seeing it done in films or
reading about it is vicarious, substitute experience. It is clear, therefore, that we
can approach the world or reality directly through the senses and indirectly with
reduced sensory experience. For example, we can bake forest cake or see it done
in the tv or read about it.
Why are these direct experience described to be purposeful?
Purposeful because the experience are not purely mechanical. They are not a
matter of going through the motion. These are not “mere sensory excitation”.
They are experiences that are internalized in the sense that these experiences
involve the asking of questions that have significance in the life of the person
underdoing the direct experience.
They are also described as purposeful because these experiences are undergone in
relation to a purpose, i.e learning. Why do we want our students to have a direct
experience in conducting an experiment in the laboratory? It is done in relation to
a certain learning objective.
Where should these direct, purposeful experiences lead us to? The title of this
lesson “Direct, Purposeful Experience and Beyond” implies that these direct
experiences must not be the period or the dead end. We must be brought to a
higher plane. The higher plane referred to here is the level of generalization and
abstraction
That is why we speak of “Hands – on, minds-on, and hearts – on- approach. Out
of the direct experiences must not be the period or the dead end. We must be
brought to a higher plane. The higher plane referred to here is the level of
generalization and abstraction.
That is why we speak of “Hands-on, minds-on, and hearts-on approach. Out of
the direct experience, thoughts or meaning following reflection must flow or run
the risk of a lesson consisting of activity after another activity enjoyed by the
learners who cannot make connection with the activities themselves.
The Grade IV pupil’s zoo experience of the elephant and giraffe as given the
ACTIVITY phase of the lesson enables him to understand clearly and visualize
correctly an elephant and a giraffe upon reading or hearing the words “elephant”
and “giraffe”. 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 serve as the foundation of concept formation, generalization
and abstraction. John Dewey (1916) has made this fundamental point succinctly:
An ounce of experience is better than 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.
If direct, purposeful experiences or first-hand sensory experiences make us
learn concepts and skills effectively, what does this imply to the teaching –
learning process? First, let us give our students opportunities to learn by doing.
Let us immerse our students in the world of experience. Second, let us make us of
real things as we can. Third, let us help the students develop the five senses to the
full to heighten their sensitivity to the world. Fourth, let us guide our students so
that they can draw meaning from their first-hand experiences and evaluate their
level of thinking. As mentioned in lesson 5, let us not be tempted to get stuck to
the concrete and fail to bring up our students’ to the higher level of thinking
process.
The figure below reflects what we have been saying about the effectiveness of the
use of direct experiences.
Activity 6
Name: Score:
Instruction: Answer the following questions.
1. Give an example of Direct Experience and explain why?
2. Give an example of Purposeful Experience and explain why?
3. Give an example of Beyond Experience and explain why?
