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Journals / Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 59 Sayı: 2

Examining Elementary School Students’ Flexibility in Operations

İlkokul Öğrencilerinin İşlemde Esnekliklerinin İncelenmesi

Ebru Aylar Çankaya(Ankara Üniversitesi)0000-0003-0455-3553
Pages
639–684
Publication Date
2026-08-06
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

In general, students found the solution confusing and incomprehensible when the number of operations in the given strategy increased or when other forms of representation besides symbolic representation were included in the strategy.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Strategy flexibility in operations can be defined as students' tendency to solve any operation using different strategies and to select and apply these strategies appropriately depending on the given operation.
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Key Findings & Data:The main aim of this study is to reveal how 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade primary school students perceive and interpret different strategies that can be used for addition, subtraction, and multiplication operations and to examine their flexibility in operations in this context.
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Conclusion & Impact:In general, students found the solution confusing and incomprehensible when the number of operations in the given strategy increased or when other forms of representation besides symbolic representation were included in the strategy.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:esneklik · işlemde esneklik · sayı hissi

Abstract

Strategy flexibility in operations can be defined as students' tendency to solve any operation using different strategies and to select and apply these strategies appropriately depending on the given operation. Flexibility also requires thinking about numbers in a flexible and part-whole relation, and flexibility in operations is also considered a component of number sense. The main aim of this study is to reveal how 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade primary school students perceive and interpret different strategies that can be used for addition, subtraction, and multiplication operations and to examine their flexibility in operations in this context. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted for this purpose. A total of 135 students attending an primary school in the Çankaya district of Ankara participated in the study. During the data collection process, a three-question strategy assessment form covering addition, subtraction, and multiplication operations, prepared separately for each grade level, was used. When all grade levels and strategies were examined together, the strategy that students accepted as correct at the highest level was the standard algorithm, while the strategy accepted as correct at the lowest level was the strategy involving the verbal description of the mental process. In general, students found the solution confusing and incomprehensible when the number of operations in the given strategy increased or when other forms of representation besides symbolic representation were included in the strategy.

Özet

İşlemde esneklik, öğrencilerin herhangi bir işlemi farklı stratejilerle çözebilme, bu stratejileri verilen işleme bağlı olarak uygun bir şekilde seçip uygulayabilme eğilimi olarak tanımlanabilir. Esneklik aynı zamanda sayıları da esnek ve parçalı bir şekilde düşünmeyi gerektir ve işlemde esneklik sayı hissinin bir bileşeni olarak da ele alınır. Bu araştırmanın temel amacı, ilkokul 2., 3. ve 4. sınıf öğrencilerinin toplama, çıkarma ve çarpma işlemlerine ilişkin olarak kullanılabilecek farklı stratejileri nasıl algıladıklarını ve yorumladıklarını ortaya koymak, bu bağlamda işlemde esnekliklerini incelemektir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda nitel betimsel bir araştırma gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmaya Ankara’nın Çankaya ilçesinde yer alan bir ilkokulda öğrenim görmekte olan toplam 135 öğrenci katılmıştır. Veri toplama sürecinde her bir sınıf düzeyi için ayrı ayrı hazırlanan, toplama, çıkarma ve çarpma işlemlerini kapsayan üç soruluk bir strateji değerlendirme formu kullanılmıştır. Tüm sınıf düzeyleri ve stratejiler bir arada incelendiğinde, öğrencilerin en yüksek düzeyde doğru kabul ederek yöneldiği strateji geleneksel algoritma, en düşük düzeyde doğru kabul edilen strateji zihinsel işlemin sözel anlatımının yer aldığı strateji olmuştur. Öğrenciler genel olarak verilen stratejide işlem sayısı arttıkça veya işlem sürecine sembolik temsil dışında başka temsil biçimleri dahil olduğunda çözümü karışık ve anlaşılmaz bulmuşlardır.

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Cite This Article

Çankaya, E. A. (2026). Examining Elementary School Students’ Flexibility in Operations. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 59 Sayı: 2, 639–684. https://doi.org/10.30964/auebfd.1860372

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