Preparing Teachers and Librarians to Collaborate to Teach 21st Century Skills

Friel, Holly

Latham, D., Gross, M., & Witte, S. (2013, April 4). Preparing Teachers and Librarians to Collaborate to Teach 21^st Century Skills: Views of LIS and Education Faculty.  School Library Research, 16, 1-23. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol16/SLR_PreparingTeachersLibrarianstoCollaborate_V16.pdf

Summary:

This research study explores the question of: if so much emphasis is put on collaboration between teacher librarians and classroom teachers, how are we each (teacher librarians and classroom teachers) actually be trained for this? The article explains that while there is a lot of emphasis on collaboration in the MLIS programs, collaboration is not a significant emphasis of most teacher training programs. The study analyzes what type of instruction (if any) the two groups receive regarding collaboration in their respective programs, obstacles to collaboration in the field, and suggestions for coursework that can include an emphasis on collaboration

The article also discusses 21st Century Skills: “thinking, learning, technology, and information-literacy, life, and career skills essential for success in this century” referencing the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, The Institute of Museum and Library Services 21st Century Skills Initiative, the American Association of School Librarian’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, and the Common Core State Standards. 

Quoted from the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills are these helpful terms and definitions:

· Information literacy: “the ability to successfully access, evaluate, use, and manage information”

· Media literacy: “the ability to successfully analyze media and create media products”
· Information and communication technology (ICT) literacy: “the ability to successfully apply technology”

Review:

The discussion in this article regarding how teacher librarians and teachers are taught (or not) to collaborate very interesting, as well as the overview of 21^st Century Skills. One of the things that stood out to me the most is this statement: “Clearly, more research is needed to identify and develop best practices for teaching collaboration to pre-service librarians and teachers.” It reminds me of a fundamental question that my colleagues and I would sometimes ask each other: “but how do you teach?”