I hate the notion of the "teacher's toolbox!" I'm not sure if saying that means that I will lose my teacher's license but I'm willing to take the risk. The teacher's toolbox concept has been around for awhile, a playful euphemism describing all the different techniques teachers might use to help their students learn. Indeed, there are certainly some truths that the phrase implies. For example, newer teachers have fewer "tools" with which to work. Teacher education can never be long enough or thorough enough to enable teacher candidates to master every tool. Like any profession, the real learning comes from the "doing" in the profession. This phrase also correctly implies that there is not one single teaching technique that will work for any particular student, topic, or instructional material. Teachers need to think flexibly about to to present the material in various forms so that all students can access it.
What I think I hate about the "teacher toolbox" concept is that, for all the good things it implies, it also implies that teachers need to "fix" something. As I have worked with pre-service teachers, I realize that many differentiate "toolbox" from "tools." In their minds, toolboxes are filled with supplies to help people fix things. Tools, on the other hand, can be used to fix or create. It is an interesting distinction that I think we as teachers and teacher educators need to be cognizant of when we use such "cute" terms.
More to the point, however, the "teachers toolbox" is often not very specific with regards to the tools in it. For example, we might have a hammer (e.g., "direct instruction"), a saw (e.g., "jigsaw activity"), and/or a screw driver (e.g., "guided reading activity") in our toolbox. What we don't have (or can't see) within our toolboxes is any specificity beyond the types of tools we have. Do we have a Phillip's head screwdriver or a flathead? What type of saw might work best as we work to scaffold students' knowledge? Indeed, one of the biggest, newest, coolest, and least specific tools that we have in our toolboxes is "technology." Rarely do teachers use "technology" (whatever that actually means) as a surgical tool, making small adjustments within a lesson in order to tweek students' understanding. Often, we use it as the Jaws of Life, prying open the motivation and imagination of students that we have a hard time reaching any other way.
As we are continuing to learn how technologies (see how I used the plural here?) can best used effectively in the classroom, we can't afford to make the mistake of generalizing the categories. Within our toolbox, we need to know what types of technologies we have mastery of and how to use each individually and in combination for the best result under the best circumstances. To do this will take time and consistent practice. As youths (and adults) become "one" with their electronic devices, we need to teach about good new media habits in the classroom. On top of everything else that teachers have to do, this can seem like just one more thing that we need to touch upon... but maybe it doesn't have to be.
When I teach students to create lesson plans, I often ask them to create three activities within the Procedures section that drive home the Mastery Objective. Newer teachers often get the first two down and then trip-up on the third; they aren't always sure what to do. One "easy" way of addressing both the issue of a third activity and teaching good media habits is to have one "technology block" per lesson. For example, if I want students to be able to justify a position using supporting evidence from text (one of the Common Core Standards, by the way), then I might ask students to practice this skill with me using a printed article, I might ask them to find a blog post about that topic online to analyze and think about in groups, and then I might ask them to develop their arguments individually. Rather than having a computer lab day (in the traditional sense that a class might spend the whole time there, working on computers), I've integrated blogging (one tool) into my lesson in a very strategic way.
Obviously, time and resources always play a role in the types of tools that any particular teacher can use. In addition, not all lessons will call for the same types of technologies. I think that it is important for use to think about how we can meet students where they are with technologies and be more explicit about the types of tools we have in our "teacher's toolbox."Doing so might allow students to practice good new media habits and increasing the academic rigor of students' media use.
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