QED’s mission is to create, inspire, cultivate, and sustain cultures of transformational learning where we are all learners, learning changes lives, learning needs to happen in different ways, and learning empowers us.

QED’s theory of action is based on Four Guiding Principles, which are operationalized in the NDFL’s Nine Commitments and Five Actions:

4 Guiding Principles

  1. We are all learners with aspirations and passions which deserve to be supported in every way possible.
  2. Learning changes lives by helping us develop the will, knowledge, skill, and capacity to achieve our aspirations.
  3. Learning needs to happen in different ways, so we use various strengths and resources to engage with the world around us.
  4. Learning empowers us to co-create our public world and to shape the decisions that impact our lives.

9 Commitments

  1. a positive view of neurodevelopmental diversity
  2. a stress on neurodevelopmental profiles
  3. a quest for specificity and individuality in understanding learners
  4. a policy of labeling observable phenomena rather than children
  5. a commitment to collaboration among professionals, parents, and children
  6. a desire to strengthen the strengths and affinities of children
  7. a belief in the value of demystification
  8. a consistent effort to help learners learn about learning
  9. an infusion of optimism for all kinds of kids with all kinds of minds

5 Actions

  1. Inspire optimism in the face of learning challenges
  2. Discover and treasure unique learning profiles
  3. Eliminate humiliation, blaming and labeling of learners
  4. Empower learners to find success
  5. Leverage strengths and affinities