LDA Awards for 2011   

Recipients of our LDA Awards for 2011 are Angela Weeks, for the Mona Tobias Award, and Fay Tran, for the Bruce Wicking Award.  There were no applications for the 2011Tertiary Student Award    

Mona Tobias Award 2011

The recipient of the LDA Mona Tobias Award for 2010 is Angela Weeks.

Angela Weeks is the Clinical Director of SPELD SA, a position she has held since 2001.  After graduating as a primary teacher in 1972, she went on to become the Head of Junior School at Walford Anglican School for Girls in Adelaide, from 1985 to 1995, at the same time doing a Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Group Work at the University of South Australia.  She went on to do a BA Hons degree in Psychology, with a thesis on the topic Dyslexia: Can Tuition Help?  Following this she joined SPELD SA as a trainee psychologist,  and also worked part time as a special education teacher,  before taking on the role of Educational Administrator at SPELD SA in 1997.

Since her appointment as Clinical Director Angela has led and developed the team at SPELD SA in providing effective intervention for children and adults with dyslexia and other learning difficulties, as well as professional development for tutors and teachers. She also developed a referral service linking children to tutors, and has been active in advocating for students with learning difficulties in schools and government.  She has visited schools, organised conferences, produced resources for teachers and students, and conducted research. She regularly liaises with personnel from DECS in order to contribute to the development of policy and resources for literacy. She has developed networks between various professionals involved in intervention for children with learning difficulties, involving many in Professional Development programs.  

The Mona Tobias Award will be presented to Angela Weeks at the Awards Presentation following the LDA AGM on 15 October, in recognition of her significant contribution to the education of people with learning difficulties through her leadership in promoting services to those with learning difficulties and their families, and also in supporting the professionals who work with students with learning difficulties.

Bruce Wicking Award 2011

The recipient of the LDA Bruce Wicking Award for 2011 is Fay Tran.
Fay Tran is an LDA Consultant and was Learning Support Teacher at Geelong Grammar from 1984 to 2010.  She is a qualified primary teacher and teacher librarian, and also has a Bachelor in Special Education from Flinders University.  In 2010 she published a book, Teaching Kids to Read, based on her experiences in supporting children with learning difficulties at Geelong Grammar.  This was during a period when the whole language approach to the teaching of literacy came to dominate teaching of reading in the primary grades, and Fay was one of the few teachers, together with Dick Weigall, a colleague at Geelong Grammar and also a life member of LDA and former Associate Editor of the LDA Journal, who resisted pressures to abandon the phonics approach to the teaching of initial reading, and was successful in ensuring that direct teaching of phonics was maintained within a modified teaching program, which included elements of both the whole language and the phonics approaches to the teaching of initial reading and early literacy.  As Learning Support Teacher at Geelong Grammar Fay continued to support children with learning difficulties by applying methods of instruction that research has shown to be effective.  As noted by Peter Westwood in his Foreword to Fay Tran’s book, her approach to teaching reflects a thorough understanding of how children learn, the particular needs of children with learning difficulties, the importance of explicit instruction, practice and the opportunity to apply new learning in achieving mastery, and the need for ongoing monitoring and assessment.  In documenting these strategies in her book, Fay has provided an important resource for teachers and parents, described by one grateful parent as ‘by far the most inspiring, practical and informative book I found.’

The Bruce Wicking Award will be presented to Fay Tran at the Awards Presentation following the LDA AGM on 15 October, in recognition of her commitment to effective teaching practice based on sound evidence, and her willingness to stand up to opposition in support of her principles.