In order to engage the non-verbal areas of the brain in problem solving, extensive training seems to be needed. This is probably not unlike the processes that one uses to learn to play a musical instrument. 13 Students must practice! One of the effects, and a clear demonstration that the process is working, is when students become fluent with the basic operations and don’t have to think about each separate step. For school mathematics, students must practice with numbers. They must add them until basic addition is automatic. The same for subtraction and multiplication. They must practice until these operations are automatic. This is not so that they can amaze.
