Quality Teaching and Learning Standards

Students

• Develop natural curiosity.
• Acquire the skills necessary for inquiry and research.
• Show independence in learning.
• Actively enjoy learning and sustain a life-long love of learning.

Teachers

• Develop well-scaffolded, student-centered activities that allow students to develop natural curiosity, explore their own knowledge, and  build on it through experimentation and research.
• Inspire and enthuse the students with subject knowledge.
• Recognize and validate the independent work of students.
• Provide opportunities for authentic learning.

Students

• Explore issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
• Acquire in-depth knowledge in a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
• Develop an understanding of different ways of knowing.
• Demonstrate an ability to connect knowledge across disciplines.

Teachers

• Demonstrate secure knowledge of the curriculum and an awareness of knowledge issues within and beyond their disciplines. 
• Help students recall and apply information that has been taught.
• Accurately assess student work and progress according to national and international standards and benchmarks.
• Share knowledge and encourage open and balanced student discussion of current events, both local and global.
•  

Students

• Exercise initiative.
• Apply thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems.
• Make reasoned and ethical decisions.
• Contemplate and develop an awareness of beauty in the universe.

Teachers

• Give reflective time for students to organize and express their individual thoughts.
• Provide opportunities for students to apply newly-acquired knowledge to challenging questions and problems.
• Use open-ended questions to develop and emphasize conceptual understanding and critical thinking.

Students

• Express ideas confidently and creatively in more than one language.
• Communicate in a variety of modes.
• Work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
• Develop skills for effective decision making and leadership.
   

Teachers

• Communicate effectively with all students: speak clearly, listen attentively and respectfully, provide students with channels for feedback and respond in a timely manner.
• Create supportive environments and design learning opportunities that encourage the development of communication, decision-making, and leadership skills.
• Model these skills by working collaboratively with all members of the School Community.
• Provide students with opportunities to express their ideas in a variety of modes.

Students

• Act with integrity, honesty, and a strong sense of fairness.
• Act with justice and respect the life and dignity of individuals, groups and communities.
• Take responsibility for their actions and have a high standard of self-discipline.
• Know that being a Christian requires following the teachings of the Gospel.

Teachers

• Exemplify the virtues they seek to inspire in students: curiosity, tolerance, honesty, fairness, respect for diversity and appreciation of cultural differences.
• Take responsibility for their actions and have a high standard of self-discipline.
• Expose students to Gospel values and to  real-world examples of principled people. 
• Debate controversial issues, encouraging students to reflect on their moral responsibility when proposing solutions.

Students

• Understand and appreciate their culture and personal history.
• Seek and evaluate a range of points of view and be willing to grow from the experience.
• Embrace the perspectives, values, and traditions of other individuals and communities.
• Be sensitive to the diverse abilities and talents of others.

Teachers

• Appreciate the beauty and enrichment of differences and diversity.
• Challenge students’ beliefs by exposing them to a variety of cultures, perspectives and problems.
• Explore, understand and accept the diversity of student responses to situations and issues as they arise. 
   

Students

• Show empathy, compassion and respect, acting to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
• Have a personal commitment to service.
• Show particular care for the human rights of the poor, the powerless, and the marginalized, so that “all may have life”.
•  Treat others the way they themselves would like to be treated.

Teachers

• Exemplify how to be a good listener and a good friend, showing kindness by building caring relationships with students and colleagues.
• Encourage students to support and help each other in facing challenges.
• Develop awareness and empathy about issues of human rights and approach the School's Abana Project for Zambia and other service initiatives in developmentally-appropriate ways.

Students

• Approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought.
• Have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas, and strategies.
•  Articulate their beliefs and defend them courageously.

Teachers

• Encourage students to explore creative and divergent thinking when faced with problems to solve.
• Embolden students to extend their capabilities. 
• Empower students to face challenging academic situations in their own language and in a foreign language.

Students

• Understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
• Show concern for their moral and spiritual growth.

Teachers

• Encourage positive habits which support the development of the whole person.
• Value the community life of the School in all its variety.
• Provide students with the opportunity to share information about all areas of their lives.
   

Students

• Give thoughtful consideration to their learning and experiences.
• Seek conscientiously to fulfill their potential
• Assess their strengths and limitations to support learning and personal development.

Teachers

• Provide a place and time for critical self-reflection, including helpful and individualized feedback of how students can grow and actualize their potential.
• Value, engage with and act upon appraisal.

Students

• Know and love God and make God known and loved.
• Pray, participate in worship, and strengthen their personal relationship with God.
• Understand and give witness to their faith in respectful awareness of the religious beliefs of others.
• See each person as a child of God.

Teachers

• Model a love for God and acceptance of all religions.
• Create a sacred space so that students can encounter God.
• Model respectful behavior during morning prayers and spiritual events.
• Encourage students to take part in the School's Mission to further the charism of the Sisters of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. 

Students

• Demonstrate forgiveness, gratitude, and joy.
• Examine their conscience, seek forgiveness, and make amends.
• Work to foster a community where each person feels respected and valued.
• Know the history of the RSHM and identify with its Mission in today's world.

Teachers

• Provide opportunities for students to examine their actions and seek reconciliation. 
• Model honesty, compromise and forgiveness.
• Use dialogue and appropriate activities to teach the students about conflict resolution. 
• Identify models of peace-makers, particularly within the RSHM tradition and provide opportunities for students to explore the benefits of peace for the world.