Multiplication Fact Fluency Is Coming!

Later this week, the Education Department will roll out a Multiplication Fact Fluency program.  Much like Numerical Fluency for Addition and Subtraction facts, the Multiplication Fact Fluency program will assess students’ abilities not only to recall the products of their multiplication facts in families 0 – 12 quickly and accurately, but also to understand the math behind those facts and use their number sense to find answers that they may not have yet mastered.

All of you have heard me talk over the years about Memorization vs. Construction—nowhere is this discussion more relevant than when teaching children multiplication. I have attached this discussion again in a format that can be printed and distributed to Instructors, students or parents: Multiplication Fact Fluency ^[1]

This is why Mathnasium’s Multiplication Fact Fluency program is a multi–step process which includes mastery of prerequisite skills, Prescriptives, verbal interaction with Instructors, manipulatives, Workbooks, and structured reinforcement over an appropriate period of time.  While awareness and competency may be accomplished through a Prescriptive, mastery for most students will come days or months in the future and will require significant repetition and practice in a way that we are not necessarily accustomed to administering at Mathnasium.

For this reason, you will see some new things in this program:

• A page dedicated specifically to practice with multiple options for implementation…
• FOs that consist of pages and pages of fact practice…
• And a final Assessment that is 169 facts long.

In the near future, you may even see recommendations for apps students can use as they practice their facts at home!

We will stay true to our beliefs and work in favor of understanding and strategy over memorization, but please be aware that the two may not look as distinct as they have in the past for this particular purpose.

Keep watching Mathnasium Matters for more updates!