It's time to face facts: Teaching multiplication tables for automaticity and understanding

Episode 112: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Lisa Coe, Shannen Doherty and Sarah Farrell for an in-depth exploration of multiplication tables, the fallout from the first official multiplication check in England and how we can support all pupils in developing automaticity and understanding in this area of mathematics. As part of the chat we discuss...

1. With regards to multiplication tables what comes first, knowing or understanding?

2. What systems or approaches should and can we put in place to help pupils learn about multiplication tables?

3. What did you think of the outcomes of the MTC this year (2022) Is there anything you’d change on a school or systemic level as a result?

4. If we imagine that the MTC is a suitable proxy for pupils knowing their times tables, what would you change on a systemic level so that more than 27% can be considered to know their times tables at the end of Year 4?

5. If pupils are struggling to develop quick or even derivative recall of multiplication facts what can we put in place to support them?

...plus much, much more.

Whether you're new to the profession or an experienced senior leader, you won't want to miss this one!