Possible Misconceptions about the Cone1
¥Perhaps the Cone of Experience has already helped to remind you of some important ideas about communication, learning, and concept development.  But like all reminders, the Cone carries the dangers of oversimplification... [do] not mistake the Cone device for an exact rank-order of learning processes.  You will understand that the Cone classifies instructional messages only in terms of greater or lesser concreteness and abstractness. 
1From Dale, 1969, p. 128