AfterMaths: From Capybara Escapes to The MTC: Real World Maths

About this episode

Jon and Becky discuss multiplication education, the Multiplication Tables Check, and real-world applications of maths inspired by a capybara escape.

In this Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky catch up after a short break and reflect on this week’s interview with Professor Lucy Cragg on multiplication and how children learn times tables. The conversation turns to the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), exploring its origins, purpose and impact since its introduction. Jon shares a short history of the check, from its announcement in 2017 through to its first full national rollout in 2022, and discusses what the latest data and Teacher Tapp findings suggest about its influence on teaching and learning. They consider the benefits of increased focus on multiplication fluency, alongside some of the tensions around assessment, accountability and the risk of prioritising speed over understanding. The discussion raises an important question: does rapid recall alone support deeper mathematical thinking, or are we missing something? Becky then brings this week’s Maths of Life, inspired by a real-life capybara escape near her home. Using the scenario, she explores how maths can be used to model search areas, introducing ideas around radius, area and real-world problem solving. It’s a reminder of how powerful…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jon Cripwell, Becky

Guest: Professor Lucy Cragg

Topics covered

• multiplication
• times tables
• education
• assessment
• real-world maths
• fluency
• problem solving

Keywords

• multiplication
• times tables
• MTC
• assessment
• fluency
• real-world maths
• problem solving
• wait time

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Teacher Tapp

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