Elaboration Theory
The Elaboration Theory falls under the cognitivist
learning theory, organizing instruction from simple to complex. “A key idea
of elaboration theory is that the learner needs to develop a meaningful context
into which subsequent ideas and skills can be assimilated” as stated by www.instructionaldesign.org (2015).
Seven Major Strategies
The Elaboration Theory is composed of
seven major strategies, adapted from A Critical Review of
Elaboration Theory:
1.
Organizing lessons: a simple to complex, structured,
lesson that can be executed conceptually, theoretically or procedurally.
2.
Learning prerequisite
sequences:
each lesson increases in complexity, allowing learners to build upon prior
knowledge.
3.
Summary: learners can review
content covered within the lesson and the unit.
4.
Synthesis: cognitive strategies that
allow the learner to demonstrate content knowledge gained through
presentations, for example, diagrams or graphic organizers.
5.
Analogies: learners are able to
apply acquired knowledge to real-world scenarios.
6.
Cognitive strategies:
a.
Embedded—using illustrations or diagrams to process material
b.
Detached—using instructions to create a ‘mental picture’ of the
process learned
7.
Learner control: learners have
comprehensive control over how the material is learned.
Analogies in Elaboration
Theory
In order to better understand the
Elaboration Theory, it is best to look at Reigleuth’s zoom
lens analogy. As Reigeluth (1980) stated,
Studying subject matter “through” the
elaboration model is similar in many respects to studying a picture through a
zoom lens. A person starts with a wide-angle view, which allows him or her to
see the major parts of the picture and the major relationships among those
parts, but without any detail. The person then zooms in on a part of the
picture…Zooming in one level on a given part of the picture allows the person
to see more about each of the major subparts. After having studied those
subparts and their interrelationships, the person could then zoom back out to
the wide-angle view to review the other parts of the whole picture and to
review the context of this part within the whole picture. (p. 3)
The same way a person can zoom in and out of Google Maps to get directions, learners can
zoom in and out of content to obtain more details. As learners begin to master
content, it becomes easier to zoom in for more detail and zoom out to apply new
knowledge to the “big picture.”
Elaborative Theory in Use
The state of Nevada is taking a more elaborative
approach to learning within the science curriculum starting the 2015-2016
school year. As stated by elearningindustry.com, “…spiral sequencing involves
the mastery of a particular topic gradually, wherein they take a look at the
fundamentals of each topic, before going back to learn more about each
individual subject or step.” This year the district decided to spiral the science
curriculum, meaning every science teacher will no longer teach a single topic,
i.e. earth science, life science chemistry. Every science teacher will
incorporate all areas of science into their curriculum, gradually increasing
the complexity of the content each year and delving deeper into the subject
matter.
References
Elaboration
Theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2015. Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/elaboration-theory.html
"Instructional Design
Models and Theories: Elaboration Theory." www.elearningindustry.com.
N.p., 6 Dec. 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. Retrieved from http://elearningindustry.com/elaboration-theory
Reigeluth's
Elaboration Theory for Instructional Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/id/elaboration_theory.html
Reigeluth, C. M., Merrill, M. D., Wilson,
B. G., & Spiller, R. T. (1980) The elaboration theory of instruction: A
model for sequencing and synthesizing instruction. Instructional Science, 9, 195-219. Retrieved from http://mdavidmerrill.com/Papers/ElaborationTheory.pdf
Wilson, B., & Cole, P. (1992). A
critical review of elaboration theory. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 40 (3), 63-79. Retrieved from http://carbon.ucdenver.edu/~bwilson/elab.html
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