Elaboration Theory

Elaboration theory is an instructional design theory developed by the American educational theorist Charles Reigeluth beginning in the late 1970s, concerned with how to select and sequence the content of instruction rather than with the format or delivery of any single lesson. The theory holds that instruction should be organized from simple to complex, beginning with a broad, simplified overview of the whole topic, called the epitome, and then progressively elaborating on that overview in successive layers of increasing detail and complexity, with each new layer building on and reviewing what came before so learners always see how new material relates to the whole. This approach is often compared to a camera's zoom lens, which can show a wide establishing view of a scene before zooming in to reveal finer detail, and Reigeluth argued it helps learners build a stable, meaningful cognitive structure into which increasingly complex material can be integrated. Elaboration theory has been applied most successfully to instruction that teaches causal or conceptual relationships and sequences of ideas, and less successfully to instruction focused on rote facts or open-ended problem solving.