Ratio Strategy

What is the ratio?

This strategy is one that is implemented so that you can teach your students to comprehensively apply the knowledge that they learn that day to specific problems collectively. By doing this, the students are able to actively recall information, so it will last in their memories for longer. A teacher will also be able to identify what concepts that a student or students might be struggling with and work through it together so that they can understand the concept better. There are several methods that the teacher could utilize to use this strategy:

1. Unbundle

2.Half-statement

3.What's next?

4.Feign Ignorance

5.Repeated examples

6.Rephrase or add-on

7.Whys and hows

8.Supporting evidence

9.Batch process

10.Discussion objectives

Ratio is an important tool so teachers can measure their student’s understanding and to help them ingrain the information into their memory.

Classroom Example

This method would work well for students because methods within the ratio strategy, such as “half-statements”, “what’s next” and “rephrase or add on” are methods that appropriately exemplify scaffolding. Scaffolding being when you give cognitively related hints until they [the student] get the answer. This is not the only method of Vygotsky’s that Ratio exemplifies, it also gives a prime example of mediated learning and guided participation. Specifically through the methods of supporting evidence (when the student must explain what research supports them in their response), whys and hows (when the student must be able to answer why and how their thinking solved or didn’t solve the problem), and unbundle (which is breaking down the problem into smaller parts where each student could have a chance to take an active part). This strategy is appropriate for all spectrums of students because it is a component to the meaningful learning strategy of elaboration. Students are able to repeat the information out loud and in their minds and they are able to connect the concepts with the event taking place in class (i.e. Johnny answered this to that problem and it was wrong because…).

What research backs up ratio?

In my classroom I would use this strategy when I teach math. Math concepts are extremely difficult to grasp, and if they are not taught repetitively, students can easily become lost. I would use this specific strategy when I taught long division. Long division encompasses many steps; including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Long division also takes skill in where numbers are placed and the orders of the steps, things that can also be easily confused. Take the problem 375 divided by 4, I would ask a student: “How will this problem be set up? What will it look like on my paper?” After I have a response I would ask someone what the first step would be. Once we had an answer I would ask someone else “how many times will 4 go into 3?, if it can’t, what would the 4 go into?” “How many times will 4 go into 37?” I would then maybe use a half statement to find out what to do next. I would use the methods within the strategy through the whole problem until it was completed. Through doing this I would be giving the students elaboration and repetition so that the lesson would become more concrete in their mind. This way, they would be better able to recall the information and the method to solving a long-division problem.