The 21st Century Learning Standards and YouNorthern Virginia School LibrariansAugust 27, 2008Dr. Audrey ChurchLongwood University

“…curriculum content alone is not sufficient preparation for children to function effectively as learners, citizens, and workers” (Mardis and Perrault 34)

Workshop Agenda

Brief look at history of national standards Examination of the nine common beliefs Examination of the four standards Dissection of the strands Connection of standards with content curriculum Discussion of Standards for the 21st Century

Learner in Action The challenge

An Historical Perspective

1920: Standard Library Organization and Equipment for Secondary Schools

1925: Elementary School Library Standards

1945: School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow

1960: Standards for School

Library Programs

1969: Standards for School

Media Programs

1975: Media Programs:

District and School

1988: Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs

1998: Information Power:

Building Partnerships for

Learning

2008? 2009? New national guidelines for school library media programs

?

AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Released in October 2007 at the AASL

Conference in Reno, NV An “evolution” of the nine Information

Literacy Standards for Student Learning

Characteristics of the New Standards Alignment to standards in other content

areas Language understandable to other

educators “Opportunities, responsibilities, and

challenges facing today’s library media specialists in preparing students to be 21st-century learners” (Coatney 57)

From AASL President, Sara Kelly-Johns… “The new standards focus on the learner. They

outline the content and process that students need to learn now and into the future, taught through the school library program. They are not a curriculum guide or a scope-and-sequence. They provide a framework for the integration of information literacy with curricula in other subjects, taught in classrooms and libraries.” (Johns 8)

Common Beliefs

1. Reading is a window to the world.

2. Inquiry provides a framework for learning.

3. Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.

Common Beliefs

4. Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs.

5. Equitable access is a key component for education.

6. The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.

Common Beliefs7. The continuing expansion of

information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.

8. Learning has a social context.

9. School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills.

The Four Standards

Learners use skills, resources, and tools to

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.

2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.

The Four Standards

Learners use skills, resources, and tools to

3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.

4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

Structure of the Standards

For each standard, four strandsSkillsDispositions in ActionResponsibilitiesSelf-Assessment Strategies

“…standards outline the skills students must have, ongoing beliefs and attitudes needed for those skills to be practiced, the responsibilities or common behaviors of students as they learn, and strategies for personal assessment of their learning.” (Johns 8)

Key Questions

SkillsDoes the student have the right proficiencies

to explore a topic or subject further? Dispositions in Action

Is the student disposed to higher-level thinking and actively engaged in critical thinking to gain and share knowledge?

Key Questions

Responsibilities Is the student aware that the foundational traits

for 21st-century learning require self-accountability that extends beyond skills and dispositions?

Self-Assessment StrategiesCan the student recognize personal strengths

and weaknesses over time and become a stronger, more independent learner?

Connecting the new AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner to Content Curriculum

An Example: A Sample SOL…

CE.1 The student will develop the social studies skills citizenship requires, including the ability to…

c. analyze political cartoons, political advertisements, pictures, and other graphic media;

d. distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information;

e. review information for accuracy, separating fact from opinion;

Applicable Skills from each AASL Standard… 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information

presented in any format…in order to make inferences and gather meaning.

2.1.3 Use strategies to draw conclusions…and apply knowledge.

3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate understandings effectively.

4.1.5 Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience.

Other Applicable Strand Indicators? Dispositions in Action? Responsibilities? Self-Assessment Strategies?

Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action…

“a broad set of standards for the skills students should have, the ethical and legal responsibilities that go with those skills, the motivations that student have to apply those skills in the context of those responsibilities, and, finally, strategies for assessing their personal information use” (Dickinson 11)

The Four Standards

Learners use skills, resources, and tools to

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.

2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.

The Four Standards

Learners use skills, resources, and tools to

3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society.

4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

Skills…

Multiple literacies Critical thinking and problem solving Social learning skills An inquiry-based process From low-level, fact location skills to high-

level synthesis and evaluation skills In the context of content curriculum

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action 7

Dispositions in Action…

“a tendency to exhibit frequently, consciously, and voluntarily a pattern of behavior that is directed to a broad goal”

Neither standard-specific nor grade-level specific

Developed over time by the way that we structure learning experiences

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action 15

Responsibilities “the common behaviors that must be

exhibited during researching, investigating, and problem solving to develop new understanding successfully, ethically, and thoughtfully”

Neither standard-specific nor grade-level specific

Developed when learning experiences are structured for active engagement and sharing

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action 23

Self-Assessment Strategies… “Developing internal standards and comparing

performance, behaviors, or thoughts to those standards”

Three directional: Looking backwards (summative) Looking at the present (formative) Looking at the future (predictive)

Three strategies: Reflection Feedback from others Self-questioning

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action 33-35

AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner “… [focus] on the content and

process of what school libraries teach students” (Dickinson 10)

“standards for this century of library and information users, and they put librarians at the heart of learning” (Dickinson 11)

The Challenge…

Librarians at the “heart of learning”…

Your library as a learning place!

Selected Resources AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner. Retrieved August 22, 2008, from

http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/learningstandards/standards.cfm  Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action. Retrieved August 22, 2008, from

http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/standardsinaction/standardsinaction.cfm Coatney, S. (2008, February). Standards for the 21st-century learner. School Library

Media Activities Monthly 24(6), 56-58. Dickinson, G. K. (2008, March). A place to stand. Library Media Connection 26(6), 10-

12. Donham, J. (2008, April). Standards! Standards! Standards! Teacher Librarian 35(4),

43-46. Johns, S.K. (2008, Spring). AASL standards for the 21st-century learner: A time to

reflect and study. CSLA Journal 31(2), 8-9. Mardis, M.A., & Perrault, A.M. (2008, April). A whole new library: Six “senses” you can

use to make sense of new standards and guidelines. Teacher Librarian 35(4), 34-38. Midland, S. (2008, April). From stereopticon to Google: Technology and school library

standards. Teacher Librarian 35(4), 30-33

 

For more information, Audrey Church, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor/Coordinator

School Library Media Program

Longwood University

Farmville, VA 23909

Phone: 434-395-2682

Email: churchap@longwood.edu

Web: http://www.longwood.edu/staff/churchap