This project realises interdisciplinary teaching modules that teach students to spot serendipitous connections within algorithmically-generated media, and thereby foster their serendipity mindset. Innovations often spring from serendipitous, seemingly coincidental insights. However, these insights require a “prepared mind”. This prepared mind can be trained as a set of skills or mindset, and is increasingly important in a digital world of predictive algorithms and Large Language Models (LLMs) trained to mimic human reasoning. These technologies generate new texts based on statistical predication of patterns, instead of highlighting anomalies. Training a serendipity mindset empowers students to understand that both patterns and anomalies are opportunities to recognize serendipity. Humanities students embrace LLMs in education, but also report avoidance due to a fear of over-reliance and a lack of trustworthiness. Students need to increase algorithmic and information literacy and critical evaluation skills. In this project, students work within the interdisciplinary Digital Creativity and Serendipity Lab to learn: (1) to investigate how digital technologies such as search engines, scraping tools, generative AI, and interfaces shape serendipitous insights, and (2) how a skilled serendipity mindset supports their development as critical, innovation-savvy scholars and professionals. This project offers students transferable technical, social and creative competencies to develop and hone their serendipity mindset. Deliverables include openly accessible Serendipity and Education teaching modules and materials, including a teaching for serendipity course guide, and a hybrid “Serendipity in Education” workshop for fellow teachers.

This Teaching Fellowship trains Bachelor and Master students of the University of Groningen’s Digital Humanities minor and master programmes in the assessment and evaluation of serendipitous information encountering by focusing specifically on (digital) humanities students’ interaction with CLARIAH’s Media Suite. Methodologically, students are taught how to use and develop exploratory search tasks, research diaries, and videoed search journeys as part of their own user studies. Teaching efforts culminate in student insights into how digital tools such as the Media Suite shape search and discovery processes within the (digital) humanities. Furthermore, the Fellowship develops teaching materials to allow students to practice doing user studies and tool criticism to map serendipitous information encountering of peers (students of other humanities programmes within the University of Groningen). Deliverables include teaching materials, student blogposts and videos of use cases, and a list of user requirements based on the completed user studies.

The Critical Creativity Toolkit (CCT) project aimed to answer the question how
practice-based, artistic, research strategies can further improve critical thinking and
writing through making within the MA Media Studies course “Cultures of Creativity”
and beyond. It did so by co-designing, testing, and showcasing a re-usable
educational toolkit with 24 MA students. The CCT includes (1) a class format in which
students engage in critical making to investigate theories about creativity in practice
to experience how “doing” informs “knowing”; (2) an interdisciplinary workshop on
how socio-cultural values inform critical design; (3) a student-centered focus group
to collect ideas about how to develop an educational “learning line” that explicates
how making supports critical thinking. The poster includes details about the CCT and concludes how the project enhanced students’ critical creativity vocabulary and
insights as the course and project progressed.