– I know most of the answers beforehand. That’s what Jonathan Grønberg Holmlund says, who is in the 3rd grade at Stakkevollan school in Tromsø municipality. He has steely control of the times table up to the 5th time, but thinks the ones between five and ten are a little worse. – Then I have to try to think, but it usually goes quite quickly. I think it’s fun, says Holmlund. But even if the eight-year-old is a racer on the times table, it is not certain that all his peers will learn this at school. Jonathan sits at the front of the chair when the class goes through the 3rd aisle. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news More focus on understanding If you have attended primary school in Norway, it is not unlikely that you have sat at home at the kitchen table and worked. 3×6= 18 5×5= 25 6×7= Erm, what was that again? Should one learn the multiplication table at school? Yes of course! No, nowadays everyone has a calculator, right? Don’t cram, but understand how it is structured Show result In the new Education Act, there is more focus on understanding. Before the subject renewal in mathematics, students should be able to do this after stage 4: “Use the small multiplication table and carry out multiplication and division in practical situations.” But in 2020, the wording changed to: “Explore and explain connections between the four types of calculations and use the connections appropriately in calculations.” So it does not say that the students must know the times table. However, it is still not forbidden to plan for the times table to be memorized or learned in other ways. But is it unnecessary in 2020, or is it an advantage to know it on rams? It has been hotly debated on social media in recent weeks. The case was first discussed in Khrono. Doctoral scholar Ida Storehaug at UiO believes it is important that children learn that there are several ways to the right answer. Photo: Hilde Lynnebakken / Titan.uio.no – Don’t need sticky brains Ida Storehaug takes a doctorate in particle physics at the University of Oslo. She has always been fond of mathematics. But she doesn’t know the times table on rams. – When you get to a higher level, mathematics is quite abstract, so I need completely different abilities and qualities, a sticky brain, she says. – The fact that I don’t know the times table is not really a problem. But she experienced that there was a lot of bullying at primary school. – For some, studying the times table can be a step to better understanding, but it wasn’t for me. Thus, she had to learn other methods to arrive at the correct answer. She thinks that can be an advantage. – Learning other techniques for doing multiplication means that you may discover that you can be good at mathematics, even if you are bad at mental arithmetic. Now Storehaug uses mathematics every day, but it is to find out more about the universe’s smallest building blocks. Not the answer to 6×7. – Have there been any challenges on the way to university? – It may be that I have occasionally felt a bit stupid, because I did not know the multiplication table as well as the others in the class, says Storehaug. – I think that can cause many to drop out because they do not feel that they have mastered the subject. Test yourself here, but don’t cheat! – Too weak at basic things – We find that Norwegian young people who are going to study science at university are too weak at basic things that you have to learn at primary and secondary school. That’s what professor of mathematics, Martin Rypdal, says. He is head of department for mathematics and statistics at UiT Norway’s Arctic University. – They have learned a lot of advanced material, but it doesn’t help us very much when they don’t master basic arithmetic skills. He is positive that the school has more focus on understanding and certainly believes that this can make students better at the basic things. But I think a combination of pugging and understanding is best. – It makes it easier to train understanding of other things later, if you have first memorized the times table, says Rypdal. He is aware that it is an advantage to know the multiplication table by heart when studying science at university. – In principle, it is possible to get far without knowing the times table, with all the modern technology and solutions we have – but it is very impractical, says Rypdal. He understands that many may find learning the times table boring, but believes the work has value. – Practicing a bit on the multiplication table and remembering a number of things helps to train the brain. It is something that comes in very handy when you reach a higher level. Professor at UiT Martin Rypdal believes that it is good for the brain to learn the times table. Photo: Jonatan Ottesen / UiT Norwegian Arctic University – Lasts much longer than pugging At the teacher training in Tromsø, they have long practiced understanding before pugging. – Everyone who has gone to school has memorized the times table. It has had a very special place, and that’s a bit surprising. That’s what professor of mathematics didactics, Ove Gunnar Drageset, says. He believes, for example, that it is much more important to know the addition and subtraction model. – It’s not that you absolutely shouldn’t learn the times table, because it is useful, says Drageset. But it’s about how to learn it, says Drageset. He believes the most important thing is to understand how it is connected. – It is possible to build up a logical understanding that means you don’t have to go and remember all the answers. It lasts much longer than pugging, says Drageset. Professor at the Department of Teacher Education and Pedagogy at UiT Norway’s Arctic University, Ove Gunnar Drageset, believes that understanding lasts longer than bullying. Photo: UiT Norway’s Arctic University – Challenging to change practice How and whether all pupils in Norwegian primary schools learn the times table is difficult to say precisely, since it is largely up to the individual teacher. – It is probably demanding to change a practice that has been carried on for many years, says Drageset. He is happy that the authorities are putting a lot of effort into continuing education for teachers, so that more people learn how to approach learning through understanding and not bullying. But exactly how it is practiced at each individual school is something he is unsure about. – The teaching works adapt to the teaching plan, but the schools use teacher trainers to a much lesser extent than before, says Drageset. – So I’m a little unsure about what actually happens outside the schools. In the third grade at Stakkevollan school, they now learn about the 3 times, but not through pugging. Here they solve tasks and look at patterns and connections. – I like the tasks that are a bit difficult the best, because then you have to think a bit, says Jonathan. Jonathan is in deep concentration when he has to solve the tasks, even though the 3 times is an easy match for him. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news
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Children must not memorize the times table at school – creates debate among academics – news Troms and Finnmark
