Because students will encounter unsought information in the real world, we wanted to create activities to prepare them for such encounters. These Teaching Notes contain additional suggestions for implementation and key takeaways for discussion. The appendices provide different types of serendipity stories that can be used as mini-cases for discussion or shared as examples of serendipity.
The serendipity lesson begins with the instructor introducing the topic by defining serendipity and sharing personal examples with the class. The instructor could then ask the students to raise their hands if they had experienced serendipity. To reinforce students' understanding of serendipity, the instructor could ask students to share a few personal examples of their own. Student examples might include something like when they were looking for a job, they overheard someone talking about a job opening, which led them to apply for that job and being hired. After it is clear that students...