You make a fair point and my generalization was certainly too sweeping. One of the things that I tell my students is that sometimes, if they stick around long

You make a fair point and my generalization was certainly too sweeping. One of the things that I tell my students is that sometimes, if they stick around long enough, things will make sense. That being said, I'm still at a loss on how to help the students who aren't making mental models that (to me) seem relatively fundamental. I try to use visuals and videos when applicable and when possible, but I would use other approaches if I could think of something that would be helpful. Finally, I think/speculate there is a continuum of skill with mental model building. When I was a postdoc, I worked with people who had deep mental models of statistical mechanics that I just didn't have. So...I know what it feels like, but I don't know how to fix it.