Methods & Practice

What is interleaving and why does it matter for times tables?

Interleaving is one of the most counterintuitive findings in educational psychology: mixing things up feels harder and gives worse results while practicing, but clearly better results when tested later. Understanding why changes the way you practice at home.

What the research says

Interleaving, that is mixing questions from different tables instead of practicing one at a time and in order, is one of the most consistently confirmed findings in educational psychology. A randomized controlled trial with seventh-grade students learning math (Rohrer et al., 2020) found scores of 61% for interleaved practice versus 38% for blocked practice, one month after learning. Most of this evidence comes from older students solving math problems, though. For times tables in younger children it’s thinner, and a 2025 study, still a preprint, found no advantage in practicing in random order over one table at a time.

The reason mixing helps is simple: practicing one table at a time and in order lets children follow the sequence instead of remembering each fact on its own. Mixing removes that crutch and forces real recall. What mixing doesn’t do is stop neighboring facts like 6×8 and 7×8 from getting confused: researchers who study this interference argue that no order is likely to remove it in the long run (Eaves, Gilmore & Cragg, 2026).

What this means in practice

Interleaved practice feels harder: children do worse while practicing than when they drill a single table. That can be discouraging. But the research is clear: the difficulty is what strengthens the memory, not a side effect. Being able to recite the tables in order doesn’t mean having memorized them.

Try this

Mix up the questions you ask, even when you’re focusing on a new table. TabTabTab does it automatically.
Reassure your child: feeling unsure is part of the process, and it means their memory is really getting a workout.
Don’t take slower answers during practice as a sign that interleaving isn’t working.

→ TabTabTab's algorithm builds the set of questions that best fits your child's learning path.

TabTabTab trains recall, not understanding. Building the concept of multiplication is classroom work, and it comes first.

Sources

Agarwal & Agostinelli (AFT) — expert commentary
Rohrer et al. (2020) — peer-reviewed study
Boutros, Müller, Prado & Thevenot (2025) — preprint
Eaves, Gilmore & Cragg (2026) — peer-reviewed study

Last reviewed: 2026-10-17