TabTabTab
Does the order you learn times tables in matter?
Most curricula introduce times tables one at a time: all the sixes, then all the sevens. Research suggests this makes new facts get mixed up more than they need to. The order in which facts are introduced matters, even though the best order is still being researched.
What the research says
Dotan and Zviran-Ginat (2022) ran a very careful study with Year 2 children learning 16 multiplication facts over 4 weeks. In two of those weeks, the four new facts were different from each other (low interference: for example 3×4, 6×8, 2×7, 5×9). In the other two weeks, they were similar (high interference: for example 6×7, 6×8, 7×8, 7×9).
The results were clear. Facts learned in low-interference weeks were remembered much better, and the difference was still there seven weeks after training ended: interference affects long-term memory, not just short-term recall.
The key point: the confusion came from which facts were introduced in the same week, not from the facts the children already knew. Facts that were already well learned didn’t cause the same interference. So the order in which new facts are introduced, not just the mixed review that comes later, has a direct and lasting effect on memory.
The traditional method (all the 6s, then all the 7s) introduces the most similar facts at the same time: exactly the condition research links to weaker memory.
Where the evidence is still open
One caveat: a 2025 study found no advantage in practising in random order compared with practising one table at a time. The two findings fit together, because Dotan’s effect is about which new facts are introduced together, not the order in which known facts are reviewed. But the best sequence is still an open question.
A 2026 study adds an important nuance. Eaves, Gilmore and Cragg found that interference between neighbouring facts appears as soon as facts start to be learned and doesn’t fade, even once they’re well known. They argue that grouping facts so they look different is unlikely to reduce interference in the long run, once the whole set has been learned. So introducing different facts together seems to help while facts are new, but it won’t remove the confusion between neighbours for good.
What this means in practice
When your child is learning new facts, and not reviewing ones they already know, it matters which ones you introduce together. Introducing 6×7 and 6×8 in the same week makes them compete in memory, so both are harder to remember than if they’d been introduced a week apart.
Try this
- When you introduce new facts, avoid ones that share a number: for example, don’t introduce 6×7 and 7×8 in the same week.
- Introduce facts with numbers far apart from each other at the same time.
- Once the facts are learned, mixing them is fine. Some confusion between neighbours will remain even then: that’s normal, and a short pause to think helps.
TabTabTab trains recall, not understanding. Building the concept of multiplication is classroom work, and it comes first.
Sources
- Dotan & Zviran-Ginat (2022) — peer-reviewed study
- Boutros, Müller, Prado & Thevenot (2025) — preprint
- Eaves, Gilmore & Cragg (2026) — peer-reviewed study
Last reviewed: 2026-10-17