The tortoise or the hare: undergraduates, information literacy, and the slow movement Marietta Frank, Kimberley Bailey and Catherine Baldwin from University of Pittsburgh: Pam blogs from ECIL2017

There is a challenge for librarians to move on from the discourse of "quick and easy" approaches to information searching to a more "slow and steady" approach which ultimately may be more successful for learners. This idea has developed from the slow movement e.g.  Slow eating. Draw on theories of Poirier and Robinson (2014) who define principles of slow information searching, and these were linked to the ACRL framework of information literacy.

Undergraduates today live a "fast" life and this has effects on the brain.  This manifests in stress, frustration, unreasonable expectations, and sensory overload. The resulting pedagogical approaches lead to surface learning, and a lack of deep reading of texts. Mindful practices and reflection can counter these problems, and help students focus on tasks, choose quality over quantity, and enjoy learning more. 

These librarians aim to incorporate a slow "critical" approach in their own teaching, so aim to be critical, problem posing, creative, intellectual, process-based. Slow principles contribute to students' lifelong learning. 

Teaching strategies include focusing on open ended questions, time for reflection, using debate, and interviewing each other about research topics. Students asked to evaluate news stories, engage in problem based learning.