New ideas in teaching the multiplication table in primary Mathematics education

This paper presents a new teaching technique which aims to lessen children’s traditional pain and frustration in learning the multiplication table successfully. Most Mathematics textbooks & teachers uses the traditional ways of memorizing the multiplication table column by column. By the time children get to the last two columns, their memory of the first few columns diminishes and all kinds of errors and mix-ups will surface. This often leads to loss of interest, self-confidence and self-esteem. This article will show Mathematics teachers an effective and interesting way of teaching the multiplication table by understanding and using the communicative property of multiplication. It also makes use of number theories, ‘personification’ of numbers, story telling techniques and songs. The writer has confidence that Mathematics teacher will like it. The world of Primary Mathematics will be a better place if all Primary Mathematics teachers use this new teaching technique. More children in the world will then enjoy learning mathematics, feel less pain and frustration, gain more self-confidence and appreciate the wonders of Mathematics.