Creating a Useful Toolbox

I love to use tools to build different things.  I have a lot of interesting tools that are used for specific jobs.  One of my new favorite tools is a drain pipe cutter, this makes fitting old pipes with new pipes as easy as putting a Lego kit together.  My wife has made many offhanded remarks about my need for tools as she didn't understand how the correct tool makes the job go better and the finished product much nicer.  It took her using one of my specialty tools for her to realize this point.

What do tools have to do with teaching?  When we started the Education program each of us began with a new toolbox that was virtually empty.  Some of us may have had a single tool or even a few small tools in our box ready to be used in the classroom.  UVU then began to provide tools that we as teachers will need and use daily as a teacher.  One of the most important tool to date is that of understanding differentiation and how it can change a classroom.  This is a specialty tool just like my drain pipe cutter.  It allows for the proper fitting of curriculum and the students abilities with out having to scrap the entire lesson.

Just like a new tool if you do not know how to use the tool it becomes less effective and eventually discarded.  The only way to know the proper way to use the tools we have is through proper reading of the manual then using the tool in a practical application.  Differentiation is no different, you must learn how to use it properly then use it.  One of my class mates posted a differentiation map that I think is a great reminder of how to use the tool.  This is important and will change lives!