1. Direct , Purposeful
Experiences and Beyond
“From the rich experience that our senses
bring, we construct the ideas, the concepts,
the generalizations that give the meaning and
order to our lives”

2. Read the following testimonies
• “the meanings of negative discrimination
index and positive discrimination index
became crystal clear to me only when we did
an item analysis of our test items
- Grade VI teacher
• “It was only when I went to the Manila Zoo
that I learned that a giraffe is that tall and an
elephant is that big.”
- Grade 4 pupil

3. • My husband and children used to do computer job for
me which made me totally dependent on them. The
problem was they were not always around to help me
with my reports, lecture notes, etc. To redeem myself
from my helplessness, I forced myself to learn, first of
all encoding, then sending e-mail and surfing the
internet. What encouraged me was my seven year old
grand daughter could do what I was not capable of
doing. Now I feel liberated. I can encode and print my
lectures, send emails, surf the internet, and do
powerpoint presentation, even when no one is
around to help only after I had to do these things
myself - Graduate School Professor

4. • My boss assigned me to put the transparencies on
the plate of the overhead projector while he
delivered his lecture on stage. It turned out that the
first transparency was not positioned upright for the
audience. I repositioned the transparency but it was
still inverted. I felt nervous and the woman in the
audience who was seated nearby came to my rescue.
I have never forgotten that experience but having
been assigned the task repeatedly, I can say I am now
expert at the OHP.
- Secretary to the Dean

5. Discussion Questions:
• Do you have a similar experience? Share
• Think of a skill you have. How did you acquire
it?
• Think of a concept. How did you learn it?

6. What are referred to as direct, purposeful
experiences?
• These are our concrete 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)

7. Example of direct activities:
• Preparing meals
• Making a piece of furniture
• Performing a laboratory experiment
• Delivering a speech
• Taking a trip

8. In contrast, indirect experiences are
experience of other… people that we observe,
read or hear about. They are not our
experiences but still experiences in the sense
that we see, read and hear about them. They
are not first hand but rather vicarious.

9. Climbing a mountain is first hand,
direct experience. Seeing it done in films
or reading about it is vicarious,
substitute experiment. It is clear
therefore, that we can approach the
world of reality through the senses and
indirectly with reduced sensory
experience.

10. Why are these direct experiences
described to be purposeful?
• 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 undergoing the direct
experience.
• These experiences are undergone in relation
to a purpose, i.e. learning
• It is done in relation to a certain learning
objective.

11. John Dewey has made his fundamental
point succinctly:
“An ounce of experience is better than a ton of theory
because it is only in experience that a theory has
vital and verifiable significance. An experience, a very
humble experience, is capable of generating and
carrying an amount of theory (or intellectual
content), but a theory apart from experience cannot
be definitely grasped as a theory. It tends to render
thinking, or genuine theorizing unnecessary and
impossible”

12. 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?
1. Let us give our students opportunities to learn by
doing. Let us immerse our students in the world of
experience
2. Let us make use of real things as instructional
materials for as long as we can
3. Let us help our students develop the five senses to
the full to heighten their sensitivity to the world
4. Let us guide our students so that they can draw
meaning from their first hand experiences and
elevate their level of thinking.

13. Summing Up
• Direct experiences are first hand experiences
that serve as the foundation of learning. The
opposite of direct experiences are indirect or
vicarious experiences
• Direct experiences lead us to concept
formation and abstraction. We should not end
our lessons knowing only the concrete. We go
beyond the concrete by reaching the level of
abstract concepts.

14. Making the connection
80% Here is an approximation
70% of how much persons learn
60% through the five senses.
50%
Connect this graph to
sensory experience to learning.
40%
Take note of the number of
30%
senses involved starting with the
20%
base of the cone. Does this
10% graph relate to what you learned
0% about direct purposeful
experience? Do you see any
relation or connection?

15. • Any principle you learned from the Principles
of Teaching that connects to learning by direct
experience?
• Our lack of understanding is often due to our
lack of attention. Our lack of attention is
usually due to a failure in the use of our
senses. Connect this to firsthand of sensory
experience.

16. Emerson wrote:
Seven men went through a field, one after another. One
was a farmer, he saw only the grass; the next was an
astronomer, he saw the horizon and the stars; the physician
noticed the standing water and suspected miasma; he was
followed by a soldier, who glanced over the ground, found it easy
to hold, and saw in a moment how the troops could be disposed;
then came the geologist, who noticed the boulders and the sandy
loam; after him came the real-estate broker, who bethought him
how the line of the houses lots should run, where would be the
driveway, and the stables. The poet admired the shadows cast by
some trees, and still more the music of some thrushes and the
meadow lark.
What does this paragraph imply about people’s interpretation of
the concrete? How can we arrive at a more accurate interpretation
of what we experience?