The Importance of Automaticity Development in Mathematics

Abstract

This study examined whether students were reaching automaticity with single digit multiplication facts. A fourteen question interview was used to collect data. The first three questions asked the student basic information about themselves and their current math teacher. The next seven questions were math facts. The math facts chosen for the interview were a range of difficulty, starting with a simple problem like 1 x 9 and increasing in difficulty to 6 x 9. The last four questions were open-ended with the intent of gaining insight into whether the students were using strategies to complete the problems or if they were showing automaticity. The study took place in one elementary school and one middle school. The participants were students from 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade. There were nine students from 3rd grade. Four were male and five were female. Ten students were from 5th grade. Four were male and six were female. Five students were from 8th grade. Three were male and two were female. The findings from this study are consistent with research included in this study in that students are continuing to struggle with single digit multiplication problems.