TABLE 1.

A comparison of fixed versus growth mindset using hypothetical student voices

	Fixed mindset	Growth mindset
Approaching a challenge	I’m not smart enough to do this.	This will give me the chance to learn something new.
	I’m not going to get anything out of this; so, I’m not going to put in my best effort. [Offers an excuse for any failures.]	I’m intimidated by this, so I’ll break it down into smaller, more manageable projects and tackle them one-by-one to help me learn.
	I shouldn’t have to try this hard. Only dumb kids have to try in this class.	This may not work, and that’s okay. I can try my best and learn from my errors.
Confronted by failure	My first idea didn’t work. This is “impossible.”	That didn’t work. But I really want to solve this puzzle. I’ll try it a new way.
	Why should I try? I’m not actually going to learn something from it. I am hopeless at this subject.	Every try will teach me something new, even if it doesn’t work.
	This wasn’t my fault. X ruined the experiment!	If I keep trying, and incorporating what I learn, I’ll make progress.