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by DanBC 4425 days ago
Memorizing times tables used to be common in UK schools. They stopped because it doesn't appear to help children understand what multiplication actually is.

It is probably going to come back because of our current minister of education's liking of memorization.
2 comments
shanemhansen 4425 days ago
I find certain higher level concepts become much easier to grok when you've drilled/memorized the layer below. When I tutored calculus I found that most people rely struggled with the algebra, for example factoring and binomial expansion.

I think there is actually value in memorization. Even in the age of google.

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SoftwareMaven 4425 days ago
My kids' school went away from drilling for times tables when my oldest two were in elementary, in favor of a new math program that would "help them understand what multiplication is". The result is they struggled with math ever after because the mechanics of solving more complex problems was constantly interrupted by not having the needed basics.

They since changed to a more balanced approach: some memorization, some conceptual.

Personally, I've come to the point that I think they should fully embrace technology and make math completely about the conceptual while letting tools generally solve the mechanical. There is no reason a seventh graders needs to be challenged in algebra because they don't remember their times tables.

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w1ntermute 4425 days ago
Similar education fads regularly sweep through America: http://www.vox.com/2014/4/20/5625086/the-common-core-makes-s...

Personally, I find them to be a distraction from the much more important issue of changing the cultural outlook on education, particularly regarding parental involvement and supervision. Trying to optimize pedagogy is analogous to curing a disease rather than preventing its occurrence in the first place.

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