Discuss how the intersection and interaction of learner characteristics, instructional strategies, methods of inquiry, and the AASL's 21st Century Learning Standards will result in an increase in the development of 21st Century Learning Skills for students.

"Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action" includes indicators, benchmarks, model examples and assessments to support school library media specialists and other educators in teaching the essential learning skills defined in the learning standards. It also presents action examples for putting the standards into practice in elementary, middle and high school classrooms.The learning standards developed by AASL expand the definition of information literacy to include digital, visual, textual and technological literacies. The "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action" takes these essential literacies and helps school library media specialists make them a foundation for lifelong learning. At the core of these standards is the learner. AASL's learning standards recognize that a lifelong learner is nurtured by a strong school library media program that offers a highly qualified school library media specialist, up-to-date resources, active instruction and a belief in these multiple literacies throughout the school community.

According to AASL, the key skills students need for understanding, learning, thinking about, and mastering subjects are developmental. They include learning an inquiry-based process for seeking knowledge, organizing knowledge so that it's useful, evaluating resources for their validity and accuracy, and understanding material presented in a wide variety of multimedia formats.The dispositions students need to succeed indicate the beliefs and attitudes that must guide their thinking and intellectual behavior. For example, students must display initiative in asking questions beyond the collection of superficial facts, and they must use self-direction and demonstrate adaptability.

AASL’s Standards for the 21^st Century Learner says “in order for a student to become an independent learner, students must gain not only skills but also the disposition to use those skills, along with an understanding of their own responsibilities and self-assessment strategies.” When students are given skills, resources, and the tools that teach them how to think critically and make informed decisions--they are ready to pursue personal and aesthetic growth that will enable them on their journey in becoming life-long learners. One successful method for developing information literacy skills is through resource-based learning, which involves having students assume more responsibility for locating the very materials from which to learn.  

Finally, the AASL's Standards For the 21st - Century Learner is the tie that binds all of this together. It provides the framework and guidelines to see our students as accomplished information users. The Standards combine skills, dispostions in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies with learner characteristics and inquiry learning to accomplish this.