Isolation Sequence

Remove or reduce distracting material from content, as to more closely teach the concepts the content is intended to teach. The material that is removed can be taught at a later time.

The nature of the subject material contributes to how much isolation is possible.

Example 1

It is you first day learning to drive. The instructor wants you to try changing gears from park to drive, while you keep your foot on the brake and then release the break so the car rolls. But, the car is currently parked and needs to be backed up first. To isolate this activity, the instructor should first back up the car.

Example 2

See the Hello World case study.

Example 3

Writing expressions are fundamental to computer programming. Yet, expressions are often taught incidental to other programming constructs that happen to use expressions. This case study teaches expressions directly, attempting to isolate the topic. Isolation cannot be done completely, because expressions are dependent on other programming constructs.