Ratio and Proportion PhET Simulation

This project brings together researchers in embodied cognition with researchers and technologists in inclusive design. With the PhET simulation Ratio and Proportion, learners can explore finding and maintaining through movement specific challenge ratios, such as 1:2. Learners can make use of various sensorimotor perceptions – proprioception (perceiving the location of their hands in space), tactile perception of physical markers, and auditory perception of sound feedback (change in pitch, descriptive terms, etc.) in grounding their learning and accomplishing the bimanual coordination task. 

Inclusive Features

• Sound and Sonification
• Interactive Description (accessible using screen reader software)
• Voicing (customizable audio description, like an advanced version of speech-to-text)
• Pan and Zoom
• Interactive Highlights
• Alternative Input
• Use this link to access the sim with the Camera Input: Hands feature, and control the on-screen hands with your own hands

Origin

From discussions between Dor Abrahamson and Emily Moore in 2019, the idea of a Ratio and Proportion PhET simulation was born. Dor had studied his own Mathematics Imagery Trainer: Proportion extensively, and from this work came evidence of visual attentional anchors. Emily was interested in creating scenarios where non-visual attentional anchors could emerge. In 2020, she led a team to design and develop the multimodal PhET simulation Ratio and Proportion, in collaboration with Dor Abrahamson and Sofia Tancredi from the Embodied Design Research Laboratory. The sim was originally published in April 2021 and then republished in January 2023 with additional inclusive features.

Learn More

• Play with Ratio and Proportion
• Find teacher resources and learn about this sim's inclusive features
• Access simulation translations (50+ languages available)

Team

(in alphabetical order)

• Dor Abrahamson
• John Blanco
• Brett Fiedler
• Jesse Greenberg
• Michael Kauzmann
• Emily Moore
• Ashton Morris
• Taliesin Smith
• Sofia Tancredi