Mapping 21^st century skills: Investigating the curriculum preparing teachers and librarians

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Witte, Shelbie D.^{a; *} | Gross, Melissa R.^b | Latham, Jr., Don L.^b

Affiliations: [a] School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA | [b] School of Information, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Shelbie D. Witte, School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, 1114 W Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA. Tel.: +1 850 212 4634; E-mail:shelbie.witte@okstate.edu

Abstract: In the first tier of a multi-tier research project, U.S. faculty from the School of Teacher Education and the School of Library and Information Studies seek to create synergies between teacher education and library initiatives in order to understand the best ways to encourage collaboration between teachers and librarians. This article discusses the results of an exploratory research project in which secondary teacher education coursework and library and information studies coursework were mapped to 21st century skills to investigate the ways in which preservice teachers and librarians are being prepared to collaborate and teach 21st century skills. Findings indicate that while some 21st century skills are covered in various courses throughout each preparation program, there is not a systematic approach for the teaching of 21st century skills in the preparation of future teachers and librarians.

Keywords: 21^st century skills, preservice teachers, librarian preparation, curriculum, syllabi mapping, collaboration

DOI: 10.3233/EFI-150957

Journal: Education for Information, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 209-225, 2015