Helping students build a path of understanding from ratio and proportion to decimal notation

Various studies have shown that students of all levels struggle to understand decimal numbers. This paper discusses a novel approach to increasing students’ conceptual understanding of decimal numbers. Rather than approach decimal notation as a discrete and separate mathematical topic, this approach enables students to work with contextual problems to gain a solid understanding of ratio and proportion. Using their understanding of ratio and proportion as a foundation, students can then build connected and related understandings of fractions, decimals and percents. The study discussed in this paper illustrates that grounding decimal instruction in the broader context of ratio can help students gain deeper conceptual understandings of decimal notation as well as fractions and percents.