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Example Facilitator Instructions For Implementation in 2023-24 or After

*** Please note that these are example instructions and NOT the instructions you will use for participation. Once your school has selected the administration setting and sign in method, you will receive personalized school-specific instructions on the website ***

Dear Facilitator,

Thank you so much for partnering with us to bring Growth Mindset for College Students to students at your college! Growth Mindset for College Students will only take 30 minutes to deliver to your students and uses the latest evidence-based methods to positively affect students’ attitudes about college. To learn more about the program, you can visit perts.net/college-mindset.

This document contains two sets of instructions:

Students may have questions, so we’ve also included handy Troubleshooting and student FAQ sections below to address potential concerns or computer woes. We created these instructions with the goal of making program delivery as easy as possible, so we hope you’ll take some time to carefully review these instructions. For additional support, your College liaison is [Liaison Name], [Liaison Email].

Thank you again for working with us to bridge the gap between research and practice by translating research findings into practical solutions! Together, let’s unmask students’ true potential.

Thank you for your support!

- The PERTS Team

General Information

Access Information for

Website: perts.me

Participation Code: [Participation Code]

How to Describe the Program to Students

We have provided specific instructions about how to describe the program to students in the next sections. It is important to follow them closely because mindset programs become less effective if they are described as interventions intended to help students (see Yeager et al., 2016b). For example, describing the program as an intervention intended to help students can cause students to become defensive and to view participation as stigmatizing. This prevents the internalization that is critical for the program’s success. For this reason, please do not refer to the program as Growth Mindset for College Students when speaking with students. Instead, you can describe the program as a welcome activity to better understand how students learn and what schools can do to make school a better place for them.

If Necessary, Obtain Student IDs

Students may be asked to sign into the program using their student name or email, your college’s authentication network, or their student IDs. We recommend verifying that each student has their student ID information. We also suggest obtaining a roster of IDs in advance to help students look up their information if needed. This step is especially important for students who will be completing the program on their own, because they will not be able to ask you for help finding their ID while they are completing the program.

Independent Completion

Please review these instructions if your college plans to deliver the program to students to complete on their own.

Step 1: Choose Your Invitation Method

Decide how your college will invite students to participate in Growth Mindset for College Students. There are several options and we encourage you to use a combination of invitation methods to increase the likelihood that students complete the program.

Step 2: Create an Invitation Timeline

You will need to decide when you’ll begin inviting students to participate.

For orientation-based implementation: We recommend colleges begin reaching out to students a month before they arrive on campus. We also suggest setting an internal deadline for participation at least two weeks prior to arrival so that you can extend the deadline, as needed, if response rates are lower than desired.

For course-based implementation: We recommend you set a deadline based on your normal procedures. We provide the Student Handout to facilitate delivering the program as an assignment. You may want to ask students to turn in the handout or their completion code for participation credit.

Step 3: Invite Students

Please copy and paste the script onto your designated invitation method (e.g. email, Blackboard, or orientation checklist). We suggest sending reminders as needed until your deadline.

Note: It is important to update these instructions with your college’s due date.

“Our college is working on a special program designed by PERTS, an organization that started at Stanford University. The program will help instructors and administrators at our college better understand how to make college a better place for all students.

“The activities are designed to help us understand more about the way you think and the way you learn. You will be answering survey questions, reading some short passages, and answering questions about what you read. Your responses will be kept confidential. They will only be used to help our college learn what students experience and how those experiences can be improved. You can learn more at perts.net/privacy.

“Remember: We will use what we learn to improve students' experience here and at other colleges as well. So, please read the instructions carefully and do your best to answer all of the questions to the best of your ability.

“Instructions for this assignment are simple. Using your browser, please go to perts.me. Then enter the participation code [Participation Code] and follow the on-screen instructions.

“Participating should only take about 30 minutes. You will have until (DUE DATE) to complete the assignment.”

Supervised Completion

Please review these instructions if your college plans to deliver the program to students during in-person, supervised sessions.

Step 1: Reserve Resources

Please schedule a time to give students access to computers with an Internet connection—either by bringing them to a computer lab or by requesting a laptop cart. Please keep in mind that the program takes 30 minutes for students to complete.

Step 2: Read Script Before Students Begin

Read the following script to students before they begin. If students are participating as a take home assignment, please copy and paste the script into an email or the course management system (e.g. Blackboard or Moodle).

Note: It is important to update these instructions with your due date.

“Our college is working on a special program designed by PERTS, an organization that started at Stanford University. The program will help instructors and administrators at our college better understand how to make college a better place for all students.

“The activities are designed to help us understand more about the way you think and the way you learn. You will be answering survey questions, reading some short passages, and answering questions about what you read. Your responses will be kept confidential. They will only be used to help our college learn what students experience and how those experiences can be improved. You can learn more at perts.net/privacy.

“Remember: We will use what we learn to improve students' experience here and at other colleges as well. So, please read the instructions carefully and do your best to answer all of the questions to the best of your ability.

“Instructions for this assignment are simple. Participating should only take about 30 minutes. You will have until (DUE DATE) to complete the assignment.

“Finally, it is very important that you not talk to each other or look at each other’s answers. That would be a violation of privacy, which will not be allowed.”

Step 3: Share Instructions for Participation

After the program is introduced, share the website address and the participation code with students.

Website: perts.me
Participation Code: [Participation Code]

Please read the following:

“Now open your browser and please go to perts.me. Then enter the participation code [Participation Code] and follow the on-screen instructions. Please be aware that as you move through the program, you may want to go back to a previous question. If so, do not use the back arrow on the browser. Instead, use the ‘Go Back’ link in the upper left corner, just above the questions.

“Please begin.”

Provide students with a ten minute warning and let them know it is okay if they do not have the time to finish everything.

“We have about ten minutes remaining for the activity. Please continue with the activity, but do not rush. It is okay if you do not have time to finish everything.”

Step 4: Read Script After Student Participation

At the end of the activity, ask your students to log out by closing their browser window.

“We have reached the end of the session. It's okay if you are not totally done with the activity, just close the browser. You should complete the activity in your own time. To complete the activity later, please go to perts.me, enter the code [Participation Code], and type in your student ID. The website should bring you back to the page where you left off. Please take note of the website and code now.

“Thank you. The information you have provided may be used to improve students' experiences here and at other colleges as well.”

Troubleshooting

We work hard to minimize technical problems, but sometimes issues come up. Here are some problems students have experienced in the past and the best ways to solve them.

Error Message: Confirm Form Resubmission

Problem: A student clicked the back button on the browser.
Solution: Click the “reload” or “refresh” button. You may also need to click “confirm” or “continue.”

Closed Page

Problem: A student closed the browser window.
Solution: Tell the student to go to perts.me and sign in again, just like they did the first time. The program will continue where the student left off.

Warning Message or Connection Expired Message

Problem: A student's screen says that the connection expired or a similar warning.
Solution: Click the “reload” or “refresh” button.

Lost Location

Problem: The survey restarted from the beginning.
Solution: Tell the student to skip up to the part where they left off. The answers the student previously provided have been saved, but the server lost the page they were on for network reasons.

Note: Some pages may not allow students to advance until a certain amount of time (about 5 seconds) has passed.

Frequently Asked Student Questions and Responses

If you have any additional questions, you can: