Closing the 12 - 13 Gap Together: School and College Librarians Supporting 21st Century Learners.

Frederick, Lauren

Oakleaf, M., & Owen, P. L. (2010). Closing the 12 - 13 Gap Together: School and College Librarians Supporting 21st Century Learners. Teacher Librarian, 37(4), 52-58.

Summary: 

This article is a syllabus study, that demonstrates what sutdents need to know and do to be successful during their first semester in college, and how to close the gap between Freshman year and their senior year in highschool. The authors have surveyed college faculty about what they expect from students and gathered anecdotal descriptions of student skill deficiencies noted by both teacher-librarians and college librarians. These evidence-based studies provide concrete data that can be used to advocate for increased information literacy instruction on both sides of the 12-13 gap. This study also has implications in the high school context and the evidence can be used to improve 21st century skills instruction at the high school level.

Evaluation:

This article is an interesting take on 21^st century skills, as it actually provides a tutorial for teacher-librarians as to how to evaluate the students at their own schools to find out how to prepare them for the first year of college. Looking at syllabi and Freshman requirements, the step-by-step process described in this article can help both the teacher-librarian and the college library partner improve the critical areas of instruction 21st century learners deserve.