[numbnuts]

I've been teaching web dev for ~10 years, I learned early on that with JavaScript, the programming fundamentals need to be introduced in bits and pieces. The class hits a wall otherwise. As much as I would like to focus on programming fundamentals first, a class of adults needs to know and get hands-on experience with the why asap to keep them engaged. So I introduce some DOM basics early like the author outlined (except for the last two items).

It also really depends on the profile of the students themselves. I teach at a coding bootcamp now where we also have short courses on just front end web development. The bootcampers are typically more amenable to a front-heavy, bottom-up, fundamentals-first approach. The short-course students need more hand-holding.