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Discusses the need for elementary students to evaluate their own information problem-solving styles. Presents self-evaluation techniques to be used before, during, and after the information problem-solving process. Offers a list of self-evaluation questions, guidelines for designing self-evaluation instruments, and an example questionnaire. (JMV)

As the national educational organizations' standards evolve from students mastering discrete skills to demonstrating broad learning behaviors, often referred to as 21st century learning skills, pedagogy is slowly shifting from teacher- and textbook-centered dissemination of facts and information to student-centered construction of learning and knowledge. In this environment, students use a wide range of resources to collaborate with others to solve authentic problems by thinking critically, actively create content, and communicate with a wide audience. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills succinctly categorizes these participatory skills into the four Cs: "critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, communication, and creativity and innovation" (P21 mission statement). Both the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards for Students 2007 call for students to use an inquiry approach when engaged in the research process. But what does it look like for a student to be engaged in inquiry? What is inquiry-based research, commonly referred to as inquiry-based learning or "guided inquiry"? This article provides an introduction to inquiry-based learning. (Contains 3 online resources.)

There are several factors to consider when developing tasks to satisfy curricular objectives. Tasks can be written by teachers alone or by teachers and library media specialists collaboratively. Each task should have an authentic problem-driven purpose, be developmentally appropriate, have an intended audience, and introduce new concepts, content, and skills. (Author/AEF)

Students need much assistance if they are to successfully use the Location and Access procedure of problem-solving. Guidelines are presented on how classroom teachers and library media specialists can help elementary students manage this Big6 stage.

Provides guidelines for designing an "authentic project," which is the result of an information search based on a problem-driven task; it is a library research project in which authentic content is integrated with transferable skills in a real-life context. Presents three questions for assessing student performance and learning objectives. Describes a source for research project ideas. (AEF)

Explains how to teach students to select information from sources without copying sentences verbatim. This use of information is related to one step in the Big6 information problem-solving process, a high-level task that requires students to evaluate content in relation to a topic or question. (LRW)

Presents an example of successfully integrating classroom content, library media activities, and the Big6 information problem-solving process in kindergarten through second-grade classrooms. A unit on farm animals is described, in which fifth-grade students assist first graders with location and access and use of information, specifically note-taking. (LRW)