The high school / college transition

According to a recent survey "Neither university faculty nor employers believe that American public high schools are preparing students for the expectations they'll face in college and career. "  http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/07/27/survey-most-profs-find-hs-grads-unready-for-college-or-work.aspx?m=1 

This Summer I attended a conference for school librarians in Kentucky.  One of the sessions that was especially helpful  was a session about the difference between AASL standards and ACRL standards. The session was conducted by Jeff Henry - Research and Instruction Librarian and Assistant Professor at Murray State University in Kentucky . His frame of reference was from his perspective as a college librarian working with incoming freshmen. Much of the presentation was his observations about the gap between high school seniors and college freshmen . And then he showed a comparison of the two sets of standards (School standards and Academic standards) and what exactly we are missing in college preparation .

 Here are the summary headlines of the standards :
AASL   - http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/learning-standards

1. Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge;
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge;
3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society;
4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

ACRL - http://library.albany.edu/infolit/framework

1. Authority Is Constructed and Contextual
2. Information Creation as a Process
3. Information Has Value
4. Research as Inquiry
5. Scholarship as Conversation
6. Searching as Strategic Exploration 

 My biggest take away as far as preparation of my students for college and university is that they need to have an open mind . Once they learn the basic skills to evaluate information, then they can move forward to thinking critically about information.  They must understand that information is no longer static, but is constructed and contextual.  (Wikipedia is not always the devil -- I will get back to you on Buzz Feed)