Developing multiplicative thinking skills in the next generation

Multiplicative thinking is a crucial concept in maths that involves understanding and using multiplication strategies to solve maths problems. It goes beyond rote memorisation of the times tables charts and emphasises a deeper comprehension of the relationships between numbers and the principles of multiplication.

Meet the founder, Christine Lenghaus

Through my years as an educator, I discovered that many students struggled to visualise numbers and found it challenging to grasp mathematical concepts. I observed year 12 students counting on their fingers and year 7 students struggling to understand multiplication strategies.

Determined to find a solution, I created Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™, a tool that learners of all ages can use to understand multiplication strategies and other maths concepts. The teaching resources were initially designed as an alternative to teaching the times tables charts but have proven helpful in teaching addition, subtraction, division, algebra, and fractions.

Christine Lenghaus, maths teacher and owner of Maths Heroes.

I established Maths Heroes in 2015 to empower maths students by building their multiplicative thinking skills. With Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™, students learn to visualise the relationships between numbers, learning times tables and other mathematical concepts more effectively than rote memorisation.

Finalist in the 2023 Rosenthal Prize for Innovation and Inspiration in Math Teaching from the Museum of Mathematics in New York.

Our mission is to improve multiplicative thinking worldwide

Mathematics is beautiful; it's not a series of tricks or magic designed only to be memorised or regurgitated in a test. However, it can be difficult for students to understand maths without recognising patterns as links between concepts and strategies.

At Maths Heroes, our mission is to make maths enjoyable and accessible for everyone around the world. We provide interactive materials that improve multiplicative thinking skills and simplify complex mathematical problems, ensuring high-quality maths education for everyone.

Making maths education accessible to all

We allocate a substantial portion of our earnings to providing free online education for students in Myanmar and empower girls in Afghanistan through the Classrooms Without Walls initiative. Additionally, Christine volunteers at La Puerta Abierta in Guatemala, emphasising her dedication to spreading mathematical knowledge and opportunities globally.

Building multiplication mastery beyond memorisation

Maths Heroes Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™ and other maths resources are available globally, in multiple languages. Over the next five years, Maths Heroes aims to expand the business to reach more schools and students worldwide, providing them with resources and tools to help them learn multiplicative strategies to improve their mathematical ability.

Multiplication mastery icons including a compass, ruler and arrow.

For Parents
For Teachers

Young female maths student holding an ipad and wearing a school backpack.

Better is a journey, not a destination. Everyone can learn and succeed at maths.
— Christine Lenghaus

What is multiplicative thinking?

Seven and Nine multiplicative thinking blocks by Maths Heroes.

Multiplicative thinking differs from additive thinking because it requires simultaneously visualising additive strategies and the times tables chart. The same goes for division and subtraction. As students progress from counting and simple addition to embracing addition and multiplication, it marks a significant milestone in their mathematical understanding.

Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™ are an educational resource designed to enhance students' ability to think multiplicatively by providing visual and interactive aids to support their learning and understanding of multiplication concepts.

Mastering multiplicative thinking through 3D learning

Do. Draw. Dream

Creative teaching methods like Maths Heroes 3D learning make learning the times table and other maths concepts accessible to everyone. This approach helps break down barriers and ensures more people can access and enjoy learning mathematics.

Do

Learning through doing is a fun, interactive way to create seriously addictive mathematics that children love. Through interactive practice, active participation, and fun maths games using Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™ and other modern teaching aids, we can teach counting strategies, mathematical proficiency and reasoning.

Draw

Drawing is about being able to represent thinking and is an important part of learning how to study maths effectively. Numbers are abstract concepts, but students can enhance their understanding and bolster their memory retention by illustrating their thought processes through shapes, equations and graphs.

Dream

Dream is the key to thinking mathematically and reasoning abstractly, enabling learners to visualise problems and break them down into smaller parts that they can do with their heads. While the 3Ds can be taught as independent teaching methods, they are more powerful when intertwined like threads of DNA, supporting mathematical learning.

Multiplication activity icons. including a pencil and graph.

Multiplicative thinking activities

Maths Heroes has designed innovative teaching aids that enable students to understand the patterns in multiplication and division, which is a prerequisite to understanding proportional reasoning and algebraic manipulations.

Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™

With Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™, students are equipped with the tools to develop higher-order thinking skills and gain a deeper understanding of fundamental numerical concepts. Maths Heroes resources have been tested successfully in classrooms with students of all ages, ensuring that the next generation of Maths Heroes is well-equipped to solve a broad range of mathematical problems.

Easy ways to learn addition and subtraction

Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™ are purpose-built maths tools you can see, feel and interact with. Using this multi-sensory tool, you can help your child learn the basic principles of addition and subtraction, helping them visualise mathematics through 'doing', 'drawing' and 'dreaming'.

Multiplicative Thinking Blocks™ empower students to grasp multiplication strategies including how to multiply fractions and decimals and master addition, subtraction, division, algebra.

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Signs a student could benefit from Maths Heroes

Has the student developed maths anxiety?

Have their maths grades recently dropped?

Do they avoid doing their maths schoolwork or homework?

Do the get easily frustrated when they are doing maths?

Is the student acting out in maths class at school?

The basic rules and principles in maths build upon each other, so if a student is struggling with the basics, it can lead to ongoing challenges in the future, causing frustration and a lack of confidence.

Maths Heroes is suitable for children of all ages and maths skill levels. We empower them to grasp essential concepts like proportional reasoning and algebraic manipulations, fostering higher-order thinking skills.

See our maths resources