Charles M. Reigeluth’s Elaboration Theory: what is it and what does it propose?

In this theory, Charles M. Reigeluth proposes educational principles to enhance learning.

Many theories have been developed in the field of teaching, always seeking to improve existing methods.

One of the most important today is Charles M. Reigeluth's theory of elaboration.. Through these paragraphs we will be able to know more about this model, which is the methodology it uses and which are the qualities that make it one of the most relevant of the moment.

What does Charles M. Reigeluth's Elaboration Theory consist of?

Charles M. Reigeluth's elaboration theory is a methodology developed by this educational researcher. a methodology developed by this American educational researcher.. Reigeluth is an eminence in the generation of instructional design theories, i.e., the creation of models for teaching that seek maximum efficiency in getting students to maximize the learning of the proposed new content. It is within this framework that the elaboration theory is included.

The key to this theory would be the organization of this teaching from the simplest to the most complex assumptions, thus increasing the level of learning.Therefore, increasing the level of demand in a totally progressive way and making it easier for the student to consolidate each phase before facing the next one in level of complexity. In addition, another of the points highlighted by Charles M. Reigeluth's theory of elaboration is that at the end of each teaching stage, a summary of everything seen so far must be made.

This progressive consolidation at each stage is one of the hallmarks of this methodology. The review of all the above every time one of the lessons is finished is a very powerful system to fix the contents in the learner's mind, since it allows him/her to establish associations of concepts and to achieve the gradual learning that this method is looking for. It allows him to establish associations of concepts and to achieve the gradual learning that this method is looking for..

Another of the qualities that Charles M. Reigeluth's elaboration theory highlights is to use the power of the real context or examples when teaching strategies, so that they are not mere empty concepts, since having a concrete scenario on which to apply these teachings will make it much easier for the student to assimilate the new information and make this knowledge long-lasting.

Components of the elaboration theory

The elaboration theory of Charles M. Reigeluth is designed to be carried out thanks to seven fundamental components that must always be present if we want to take advantage of the full potential of this methodology and thus achieve the best possible results when teaching students through it. Let us look at each of them in more detail.

Elaborative sequence

The concepts and strategies to be taught must be developed through an elaborate sequence.. Moreover, as we saw at the beginning, this sequence must be designed in such a way that it starts with the most basic elements and gradually becomes more and more complex. This is the main characteristic of Charles M. Reigeluth's elaboration theory.

Prerequisites

This sequencing establishes some prerequisites before starting each new learning phase, which refer to the consolidation of one stage before starting the next one.. In this sense, if we are using the theory of elaboration to teach concepts that are divided into five stages, we cannot move on to stage two until stage one has been learned correctly, nor to stage three until stage two has been learned correctly, and so on.

3. Summary

We also saw in the previous point that one of the defining characteristics of Charles M. Reigeluth's elaboration theory is the establishment of summaries at the end of each stage. Each summary should include not only the concepts developed in the finalized level, but also those of all the previous ones, so that they are cumulative.

In other words, each stage that we start and finish will include a summary of everything that has been seen up to that moment.This is a fantastic mechanism to make sure that the student does not forget any of the lessons that we have taught him/her previously, as the objective is to consolidate all the knowledge.

4. Synthesis

Likewise, and given that we are seeing that concepts are cumulative, it is important to be good at synthesizing the material seen until then, since otherwise we run the risk of needing too much time to revisit contents that, once seen, can be condensed into their most important components, can be condensed into its most basic components without the need to repeat everything from the beginning.. Therefore, synthesis will be another component of Charles M. Reigeluth's theory of elaboration.

5. Analogies

As important as using summaries is to establish analogies and examples so that the learner can visualize the theoretical concepts we are putting on the table in a more realistic scenario. These analogies will help you to create a mental image that, in collaboration with the theoretical explanation, will facilitate the learning of the entire block of knowledge that we are providing you with.

6. Cognitive strategies

In order to facilitate learning, Charles M. Reigeluth's theory of elaboration indicates that the instructor or teacher can make use of different cognitive strategies, adapting them to the characteristics of the learnerThe cognitive strategies refer to the cognitive strategies of the learner, so that the concepts are assimilated in the most efficient way. These cognitive strategies refer to the different ways in which we can use our intellectual capacities to achieve learning.

7. Control of the learner

The last of the points that make up the characteristics of Charles M. Reigeluth's elaboration theory is that of learner control. This control is given by all the points that we have seen in the list, because all of them together allow the learner to have the certainty of being able to generate the right learning at any stage of the learning process.The learner can then return to it if necessary and take advantage of the resources at his or her disposal.

In this way, the person is assured of being able to understand the level he/she is studying without being forced to move on to the next one prematurely. The idea is to provide all the facilities so that the current phase is properly consolidated, without gaps in the learning process that gradually reduce the effectiveness of the methodology in question. This is what guarantees the correct functioning of this strategy.

The author of this methodology

The creation of Charles M. Reigeluth's theory of elaboration, as well as others that this author developed within the field of instructional design theories, represented a great leap forward in the field of instructional design, made a great leap forward in the field of education, especially in the United States.. Charles Reigeluth mainly expressed his models through a series of four volumes called Theories and Models of Instructional Design.

They detail the elaboration theory itself but also other very important theories such as simulation theory. Reigleluth has devoted two decades of research in this field to the reinvention of the methodologies of instructional design. to fight for the reinvention of the methodologies traditionally used in American schools.. This purpose is also reflected in two of his main books, Reinventing Schools: Time to Break the Mold and Vision and Action: Reinventing Schools through Competency-Based Personalized Education.

Charles Reigeluth was able to carry out formative research, i.e., directly applying his methodologies in the field and thus discovering their real potential and knowing the specific situations that favored or hindered learning, thus obtaining very valuable information in order to be able to refine his models.

He also did in-depth research on the technological requirements that learner-centered methodologies (such as the ones he proposed) needed. Thanks to his studies with Indiana University he found that there were four main issues that required the use of technology..

The first would be to be able to keep the records necessary for learning. The second would consist of everything related to setting the goals that had been previously planned. Next would come the actual program instruction. And it would end with the evaluation through which the level of effectiveness of the program would be checked, verifying whether the student has correctly acquired the proposed contents or, on the contrary, it is necessary to go back to them to consolidate them.

It is clear that Charles M. Reigeluth's theory of elaboration is only a part of a whole life dedicated to the improvement of educational models.

Bibliographical references:

• Reigeluth, C.M. (1992). Elaborating the elaboration theory. Educational Technology Research and Development. Springer.
• Reigeluth, C.M. (1979). In search of a better way to organize instruction: The elaboration theory. Journal of instructional Development. JSTOR.
• Reigeluth, C.M. (2018). Lesson blueprints based on the elaboration theory of instruction. Instructional theories in action. Routledge.
• 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. Springer.