Understanding the importance of Multiplication

As a high school student, I've come to realise just how vital multiplication is in our everyday lives and in our academic journey. It's a simple maths operation that is foundational for other mathematical concepts that we will need to get through high school maths.

From a personal standpoint, my journey of multiplication was not about rote learning; instead, it was more about understanding it. Without a proper grasp of this concept, we were more likely to memorise it blindly, and we would start to stumble on more advanced topics like division and fractions.

Multiplication involves comprehending the concept of repeated addition. For instance, when we say 4 times 6, we're adding 4 together six times (4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4).

It helps us understand and break it down into simpler terms rather than just 4 times 6.

Most students find it daunting to memorise the times tables as they never understood why they were doing it.

Only once students understand the meaning of multiplication do we take the next step: rote learning, which aids fluency and retention. If done regularly, it will build confidence and accuracy.