Elaboration theory

"Sequencing is only important when there is a strong relationship among the topics of the course" (p. 431)
"Theoretical analysis shows principles that elaborate on other principles (which provide more complexity and/or guidance on the same phenomena)" (p. 441-2)
Elaboration can occur by answering several different kinds of questions, such as:
  • What else happens? or What else can cause this?
  • When does this cause have this effect?
  • Which way (direction) do things change?
  • Why do they change?
  • How much do they change? (p. 442)
 For heuristic tasks, the focus is on principles, guidelines, and/or causal models that experts use to decide what to do when (rather than using a set of steps) (p. 444)

Epitomizing utilizes:

  1. a whole version of the task rather than a simpler component skill;
  2. a simple version of the task;
  3. a real-world version of the task (usually); and
  4. a fairly representative (typical or common) version of the task. (p. 444)
subsequent elaboration should be:
  1. another whole version of the task;
  2. a slightly more complex version of the task;
  3. equally authentic (or more so); and 
  4. equally or slightly less representative (typical or common) of the whole task. (p. 444)


Reigeluth, C. M. (1999). The elaboration theory: Guidance for scoope and sequence decisions. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional-design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory (vol. 2, pp. 425-453). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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