ALARM
ALARM- A Learning And Responding Matrix.
A summary of what Frank Pikardt and Max Reed from Freshwater Senior Campus told us about the system they had devised for their school.
As teachers we need to do more than just pass on information, we need t o show others how to learn.
Literacy needs to be taught specifically in each subject, concurrently with the content.
ALARM is not an instant fix- at Freshwater Senior Campus number of Grade 6 results increased from 34 in 2006 to 116 in 2010. This was with the same teachers, same students. The only variable was the introduction of ALARM.
At FSC all teachers use ALARM (with some exception for Maths). FSC has a few advantages over WHS- it is a Senior College and all teachers share a common staff room.
A common methodology is used across all classes- no more isolationist teaching. Students respond with the same sort of feedback.
What is ALARM about?
Literacy is about what and how to learn.
Students need concepts as well as content.
They must relate the concept to addressing a question.
Learning therefore needs a response- this becomes communication.
ALARM gives a series of things that need t o be done to learn what the content is telling us. They start with the simple (content) to where the student has to think for themselves and eventually understand what the whole topic is about at a conceptual level. The matrix for English and Visual Arts is a little different.
1. Name- define the topic and its areas (what is it?)
2. Describe the features/characteristics of each area.
3. Explain the significance (purpose, function or role) of each feature. This means looking at the cause/effects , problems or impacts of features.
4. Analyse- explain how or why- relationships between features.
5. Critically analyse- explain how or why-give positives and negatives
6. Evaluate- to what extent was ____ successful, effective, useful etc. Make a judgement about each feature.
7. Critically evaluate- to what extent in an overall sense-
A summary of what Frank Pikardt and Max Reed from Freshwater Senior Campus told us about the system they had devised for their school.
As teachers we need to do more than just pass on information, we need t o show others how to learn.
Literacy needs to be taught specifically in each subject, concurrently with the content.
ALARM is not an instant fix- at Freshwater Senior Campus number of Grade 6 results increased from 34 in 2006 to 116 in 2010. This was with the same teachers, same students. The only variable was the introduction of ALARM.
At FSC all teachers use ALARM (with some exception for Maths). FSC has a few advantages over WHS- it is a Senior College and all teachers share a common staff room.
A common methodology is used across all classes- no more isolationist teaching. Students respond with the same sort of feedback.
What is ALARM about?
Literacy is about what and how to learn.
Students need concepts as well as content.
They must relate the concept to addressing a question.
Learning therefore needs a response- this becomes communication.
ALARM gives a series of things that need t o be done to learn what the content is telling us. They start with the simple (content) to where the student has to think for themselves and eventually understand what the whole topic is about at a conceptual level. The matrix for English and Visual Arts is a little different.
1. Name- define the topic and its areas (what is it?)
2. Describe the features/characteristics of each area.
3. Explain the significance (purpose, function or role) of each feature. This means looking at the cause/effects , problems or impacts of features.
4. Analyse- explain how or why- relationships between features.
5. Critically analyse- explain how or why-give positives and negatives
6. Evaluate- to what extent was ____ successful, effective, useful etc. Make a judgement about each feature.
7. Critically evaluate- to what extent in an overall sense-