Should I learn division algorithm?: An investigation of elementary students’ solution strategies on division with remainder (DWR) problems

The division with remainder (DWR) problems have a great potential for students to sense make in division operation. This study aims to examine elementary school students' solution strategies for DWR problems. In this line, it is aimed to comparatively examine the strategies used in division problems by 2nd-grade students who know multiplication but have not yet been introduced to division, and 3rd and 4th-grade students who know division but have not yet been introduced to DWR problems. This qualitative research obtained data from 144 students in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades in a public primary school. A total of 6 different DWR problems were posed to the students, including the types of partitioning, adding or omitting of remainder problems. The findings indicated that the methods used by 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students in solving DWR problems differed. While Grade 2 students prefer to use strategies such as repeated addition, repeated subtraction, and using models, it is noticeable that there is a tendency to use the division algorithm towards Grade 4. However, it was noticed that students could not interpret the remainder in a meaningful way, especially from the 3rd grade, when they started to learn the division algorithm. The study suggested that the transition to the division algorithm in division problems should not be rushed, different representations should be encouraged, and realistic contexts should be used more frequently.