As a teacher, a question I often think about is how to help my students gain knowledge and provide differentiated instruction based on their individual needs. What I have overlooked is how I, as a learner (even now), acquire knowledge, develop habits, and find my own learning style. During the studying of Unit 5, I have discovered some answers.

There is a well-known collection of multiple intelligences - linguistic, logical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, visual/spatial, naturalistic, and kinesthetic (Gardner, 2011). I believe I belong to the interpersonal, visual/spatial, and linguistic; rather than the logical, intrapersonal. I have found that I am more focused and engaged in group activities. I enjoy participating in discussions, friendly debates, and working together with team members to accomplish tasks. This gives me a sense of achievement. However, when I work on tasks alone, I easily get distracted and lack motivation, often submitting assignments at the last minute. Interestingly, even when it's not a group activity, just sitting with a few people quietly working on assignments together can make me very productive! Additionally, I have a higher sensitivity to words compared to numbers. From elementary school to middle school, I consistently received A grades in Chinese and English, but my grades in math were C or D! On the other hand, visual/spatial skills have always been my strong suit. I enjoy creating mind maps, and in high school, my geography teacher even made copies of the mind map I drew and distributed them to every student. Once I visualize or write things down, my brain immediately grasps the information, and any previously unclear concepts become clear!

Regarding multiple intelligences, I believe that students should not be categorized too early, and teachers should not categorize students. Firstly, once students label themselves as "word smart" instead of "number smart", they may lose motivation to try subjects they are not naturally inclined towards, such as math or science. As students, these intelligences can change. In high school, I suddenly became interested in geometry, and to my surprise, I achieved a top-ten ranking in my class on the exams! Secondly, teachers should avoid categorizing students because it can subconsciously discourage teachers from helping struggling students (not intentionally, but because teachers default to thinking that the student won't succeed and therefore don't make efforts to assist them). It was only after becoming a teacher myself that I understood why my middle school math teacher was unwilling to help me. He never called on me to answer questions, and he didn't carefully grade my assignments. When I asked him questions, he would ask the students who were good at math in our class to explain to me. This was because he believed I wouldn't succeed and didn't want to make an effort. As a teacher, especially when teaching first grade, I realized that anything is possible. Just because a student doesn't understand something now doesn't mean they won't tomorrow after I teach them. This serves as a valuable reminder for me.