Empowering teachers to
ask the right questions
Our mission
Teachers ask up to 400 questions a day. We're on a mission to improve student literacy by empowering teachers to choose their own strategies underpinned by the ALARM framework. Let's learn to ask the right questions at the right time, place and depth to move the learning forward.
What is ALARM?
A Learning and Responding Matrix (ALARM), created by Max Woods 2009, is an explicit questioning framework. ALARM is beyond a strategy or technique, it is a framework that informs teaching strategies and drives learning through mapping out a clear progression of learning skills.
Example of ALARM
The framework can be easily adapted and applied to a range of teaching strategies and resources. One common use of ALARM is through scaffolding, where each skill level is mapped out with a corresponding question to help teachers and students identify gaps and next steps in learning.
Why use ALARM?
Teachers can explicitly guide students' understanding through content (lower-order) to concept (higher-order) level questions. This common language of metacognition equips students with a transferable skillset that can be applied across subjects and school years leading to improved HSC results.
How can we help?
We have developed three simple approaches to best support you in successfully implementing ALARM to inform teaching and improve student learning outcomes.
What teachers and leaders are saying
"I have heard about ALARM for many years and my understanding for implementation has changed. It is really about the learning and not the responding."
"This is an excellent course that has completely changed my view on Questioning...This should be a mandatory bit of learning for all new and experienced teachers."
"ALARM goes beyond school. The skill will help students for the rest of their lives."
Clients and partners
