Does understanding build fluency? Or does fluency build understanding? Here's an article by Barbara Oakley, one of the creators/teachers of a Coursera online class called "Learning How to Learn”:

"How I Rewired My Brain to Become Fluent in Math"
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-i-rewired-my-brain-to-become-fluent-in-math

In the article, she says "Understanding doesn’t build fluency; instead, fluency builds understanding. In fact, I believe that true understanding of a complex subject comes only from fluency."

She also says "I learned Russian by gaining fluency through practice, repetition, and rote learning — but rote learning that emphasized the ability to think flexibly and quickly. I learned math and science by applying precisely those same ideas. Language, math, and science, as with almost all areas of human expertise, draw on the same reservoir of brain mechanisms."

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I often think repetition and memorization have gotten a bad rap (negative reputation) mostly because the techniques feel "not fun" and "too much like work." But I try to use them as much as possible.

What do you think?