Key definitions of the Marymount Guiding Statements
Marymount Guiding Statements
The revisions made in MM 2023 to the vision, mission and the "Marymount Way" continue to be inspiring and aspirational. They have paved the way for the development of additional key definitions that summarize our understanding of the learning experience, providing clear direction for our strategic planning efforts as we move toward MM 2026. These include the following definitions:
High-Quality Learning
Our definition of "High-Quality Learning".
"Learning is the social, active and meaningful process of acquiring knowledge through authentic experiences."
Aligned with our vision to continue to be Leaders Forming Leaders, achieve the goals of Marymount Mission 2023, and following the recommendations of our accrediting agencies (CIS and NEASC), school leaders and representatives of our community worked diligently for three months to develop an institutional definition of "High-Quality Learning" that all members of the Marymount community can easily read and understand.
This important effort was led by two external consultants, Homa Tavangar and Will Richardson, both experts in the field of education and with vast experience in supporting schools in their transformation process.
The project consists of 5 important steps:
1. Survey
We conducted an internal survey to assess what is meant by learning at Marymount with the following four questions:
- What makes learning "high quality"?
- How do you learn more meaningfully and deeply?
- What happens in that moment that makes it so powerful for you?
- How do you know you have learned something?
2. Guiding Coalition
We created a "Guiding Coalition" made up of approximately 40 members of the educational community, including parents, students, teachers, academic leaders and administrative staff, with representative participation from all three sections.This coalition participated in three 90-minute workshops, where they explored and discussed how learning is understood and how it takes place, tried to create their own definition of learning, discovered what high-quality learning really means, and reflected on how this definition would apply to different areas of the school.
3. Definition
We reviewed and discussed the details and components of the finalized definition of "High-Quality Learning".
4. Socialization to teachers
We conducted a workshop led by external consultants with the participation of teachers, so that they are able to incorporate the definition in their classroom activities, planning and evaluation, and make it a reality in their pedagogical tasks.
5. Socialization to the community
Presentation of our definition of High-Quality Learning to the entire Marymount community. This exercise and the underlying approach to building a common understanding of High-Quality Learning at Marymount was and will continue to be possible thanks to the active participation and valuable contributions of our community members. This is not only part of the goals established in our strategic plan, but also represents an important milestone in the history of our institution.
Assessment
Marymount encompasses the dimensions of assessment OF, HOW and FOR learning.
To achieve this, assessment is understood as the ongoing process of measuring the progress of
learning through authentic experiences.
Intercultural Learning
It is a key component of global citizenship, and is essential to prepare our students for today's world, enabling them to act with awareness in the different cultural contexts they may encounter in their lives.
Marymount DEVICES
The competencies represent the integration of knowledge, skills and values of the Marymount Way and what it means to develop these attributes in students and their behavior.