How is division defined according to the teaching strategy?

Division is defined as counting the number of groups that can be formed within a larger total. This means that when you divide a number, you're essentially determining how many times one number (the divisor) can fit into another number (the dividend).

For example, if you have 12 candies and you want to divide them into groups of 3, you would count how many groups of 3 you can create from the 12 candies. In this case, you would have 4 groups of 3, which illustrates the fundamental definition of division as finding how many times a smaller quantity can be grouped into a larger quantity.

This understanding of division helps students to grasp the concept beyond mere arithmetic, allowing them to visualize and apply the idea in practical scenarios, such as sharing or distributing items among groups. This perspective fosters a deeper comprehension of division as a means of partitioning or grouping, rather than just performing calculations.