Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action.

Abstract

Learning in the 21P stP Century has taken on new dimensions with the exponential expansion of information, ever-changing tools, increasing digitization of text, and heightened demands for critical and creative thinking, communication, and collaborative problem solving. To succeed in our rapid-paced, global society, our learners must develop a high level of skills, attitudes and responsibilities. All learners must be able to access high-quality information from diverse perspectives, make sense of it to draw their own conclusions or create new knowledge, and share their knowledge with others. In recognition of these demands, the American Association of School Librarians has developed standards for the literacy, technology, critical thinking, and information skills that all learners need to acquire. The new standards, entitled Standards for the 21PstP-Century Learner, take a fresh approach and a broad perspective on student standards in the school library field by focusing on the learning process, not on the more limited concept of information literacy. These standards lay out underlying common beliefs as well as standards and indicators for essential skills, dispositions, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies for all learners. These standards represent high expectations for today’s learners, because they will provide the foundation for learning throughout life. The standards and indicators will serve as guideposts for school library media specialists and other educators in their teaching, because these skills and dispositions are most effectively taught as an integral part of content learning.