Making Frameworks Work: Using the ACRL and Common Core Standards to Ease the Transition from High School to College

Abstract

Library instruction plays a key role in students’ transitions from high school to college. In this presentation, we propose that making small changes to existing lesson plans can increase our impact if we use ideas from both the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and the Common Core Science and Technical Subjects Standards for Grades 11 and 12.

By combining these two frameworks, we can ease the transition for high school students to college. The Common Core Standards, with which students are already familiar, can be used as building blocks toward college-level information literacy skills, as expressed in the new ACRL Framework. We will describe the significant connections between these standards and offer strategies for modifying lesson plans to increase student engagement with information literacy activities in the library classroom. Making the connection between high school and college information literacy skills explicit for students in conjunction with targeted activities can help them realize the lasting impact of library instruction. This can also empower students to view research as an iterative, customizable process that they began in high school and which can continually be applied throughout their college coursework.