“Set in Stone” or “Willing to Grow”? Teacher sensemaking during a growth mindset initiative

•This study draws on sensemaking theory to explore how teachers explain growth and fixed mindsets.•Teachers' prior beliefs about learning and learners influence how they engage with these mindsets.•Teachers express support for the growth mindset initiative and feel it is something they already do.•Teachers sometimes oversimply these concepts into simply positive and undesirable traits.•Some teachers misinterpret fixed mindset as a characteristic of low-performing, low-income, or immigrant students.