Learning Difficulties Australia
Presentation to CCD Stakeholders Workshop
Macquarie University 29 April 2014
Our Mission
Learning Difficulties Australia is an association of teachers and other professionals
dedicated to assisting students with learning difficulties through effective teaching
practices based on scientific research, both in the classroom and through individualised
instruction.
2 Our History
• Established in 1965 as the Diagnostic and Remedial
Teachers Association of Victoria
• Comprised a small group of remedial teachers in
Melbourne
• Core group had received training in remedial
education at the Schonell Special Education Centre,
University of Queensland
• Aim was to establish a professional image and
support for teachers working with students with
learning difficulties
3 Expansion to Other States
• During the 1970s contacts were made with remedial
teachers in other states
• In 1973 it became the Australian Remedial Education
Association
• In 1994 it became the Australian Resource Educators
Association
• In 2001 it became Learning Difficulties Australia
4 Our Membership
As at 31 December 2013 our membership comprised
414 members made up as follows:
Members
Consultant Members
Life Members
Institutional Members
Student Members
Total
187
103
10
112
2
414
5 Membership by State
VIC
QLD
NSW
SA
WA
Other
233
71
60
19
16
15
56.3 %
17.1 %
14.5 %
4.6 %
3.9 %
3.6 %
Total
414
100.0 %
Other: ACT 4, Tasmania 3, NT 1, Overseas 7
6 Our Activities
• Publications
Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties
LDA Bulletin
• Professional Development
• Referral Service
• Awards
• Submissions
7 Publications
Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties
Joint Editors: Kevin Wheldall and Alison Madelaine
Published by Taylor and Francis (2008 -)
First published in May 1969 under the name
Remedial Education
under the Editorship of Chris Davidson (1969 to 1972)
Renamed
The Australian Journal of Remedial Education
(1972 to 1996, edited by Chris Davidson, assisted by Richard Weigall)
And subsequently
Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities
(1996 to 2007, edited by Chris Davidson, to 2005,
and then by Kevin Wheldall and Alison Madelaine, 2005 -)
8 LDA Bulletin
• Started as a single page information sheet for members
• In the 1970s broadened to include more content of practical
assistance to teachers
• By 1980s had reached up to 16 pages, with a range of articles
directed at teachers
• Continues to provide information on ongoing LDA activities and PD
events, as well as more substantial articles which deal with current
issues and debates
• Latest issue of Bulletin currently available free online on the LDA
website, with back issues available to members of LDA
9 Professional Development
• Ongoing program of Workshops and Seminars, focusing on
evidence-based practice and effective teaching
• Based mainly in Victoria, but expanding to NSW and Queensland
(two Workshops on explicit instruction in Sydney last year, and one
upcoming Workshop on the Gold Cast next month, conducted by
Lorraine Hammond)
• Consultant PD in Victoria – regular PD program for Consultant
members, focusing on issues relevant to our Consultants
• Biennial Joint Conference in Brisbane – in collaboration with
SPELD Queensland and the Learning Support Teachers Association
of Queensland
10 Visiting Overseas Speakers
2009 – Sir Jim Rose
Presented at the 2009 Joint Conference in Brisbane, and a series of
Seminars in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth
2012 – Linda Siegel
Linda Siegel was the recipient of the inaugural Eminent Researchers Award
presented by the Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, and presented
Workshops and lectures in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane
2015 – Louisa Moats
Dr Louisa Moats is a recognised authority in the field of learning and reading
difficulties in the US. She has been invited to visit Australia as part of LDA’s
50th Anniversary celebrations. The program for her visit has yet to be
finalised.
11 Referral Service
• Established in the early 1970s in response to queries and requests
for remedial help for students with learning difficulties
• Designed to match individual students to qualified remedial
teachers
• Has been a core part of LDA’s services over the last four decades
• LDA currently has a total of 85 Consultants on the Referral Service
register; of these 22 are either ‘full’ or ‘not available’ to take referrals
• In 2013 LDA received a total of 411 requests for a referral, and of
these 141, or 34.3, resulted in a take up
• LDA is currently in the process of moving to an online
Referral Service, along the lines of the APS
‘Find a Psychologist’ Service
12 Awards
LDA has a series of Awards designed to recognise outstanding work
in the field of learning difficulties
• Mona Tobias Award
Recognises contributions in the area of leadership, research, and practice.
• Bruce Wicking Award
Recognises innovative programs or practices relating to the teaching of
children with learning difficulties
• Tertiary Student Award
Recognises significant research carried out by a student in the course of
their tertiary level studies, which advances the understanding of theoretical
and practical issues in the field of learning difficulties
13 AJLD Awards
In 2012, two new Awards were initiated, funded by Taylor and
Francis, publishers of the LDA Journal, the Australian Journal of
Learning Difficulties
AJLD Eminent Researcher Award
AJLD Early Career Researcher Award
These Awards are designed to
• recognise significant contributions to research
• to encourage submissions of high quality research papers to
the AJLD
• to raise the profile of the LDA Journal
14 Recipients of the AJLD Awards
AJLD Eminent Researcher Award
2012
Linda Siegel
2013
Margot Prior
2014
??
AJLD Early Career Researcher Award
No Awards in this category have as yet been made
15 LDA Submissions
Submission to the Inquiry of the Senate Standing Committee on
Community Affairs into Speech Pathology Services in
Australia
Submitted 21 February 2014
Submission to the Review of the National Curriculum
Submitted 28 February 2014
Submission to the Draft Australian Curriculum, with Specific
Reference to the Sections of the English Curriculum Relating
to the Teaching of Beginning Reading
Submitted 30 May 2010
Submission to the NSW Legislative Council’s Inquiry into the
provision of education to students with a disability
or special needs
Submitted 19 February 2010
16 Links with other organisations
• No formal links with other organisations
• LDA has much in common with the various state SPELD
organisations
• Main difference between LDA and SPELD organisations is in
membership base
• LDA membership base is teachers and other professionals
dealing with people with learning difficulties (psychologists,
speech pathologists)
• SPELD membership more general, includes parents and others
interested in providing support and information
Links with other organisations cont.
• LDA - main focus is on providing information to our members on
current theory and evidence-based practice through our
publications and professional development program
• SPELD - main focus is to provide support
and advice for people with learning difficulties
17 Limitations of LDA
• Declining membership – from about 600 in early 2000s to about
400 in 2013
• Financial constraints – dependent mainly on income from
membership fees – no increase in membership fees since at
least 2004
• Is not a charitable organisation permitted to receives grants and
donations
Limitations of LDA cont.
• Dependence on volunteer members of Council for professional
input and leadership - time constraints of Council members limits
what can be achieved, for example in preparing submissions and
position statements
• Uneven distribution of workload for members of Council
• Geographic dispersion of members of Council limits opportunities
for fact to face contact
18 Strengths of LDA
• Commitment to evidence-based practice
(including Response to Intervention approach)
• An academic Journal that provides a source for publication of
Australian studies as well as international studies on research
relating to learning difficulties, with a particular focus on effective
interventions for students with learning difficulties
• A Bulletin that provides summary information on theoretical and
practical issues relating to provision of support for students with
learning difficulties for a non-academic audience
Strengths of LDA cont.
• A PD program with an emphasis on promoting effective explicit
instruction and evidence-based practice
• A Council which includes as members (and ex-members)
recognised experts in the field of reading research and in the
development and promotion of effective strategies for teaching of
reading
• Capacity to advocate for better teaching and training to serve all
students, but particularly those experiencing learning difficulties
• An informative website which is regularly updated
19 Some Comments on LDA Bulletin from overseas
readers
An invaluable resource in the business of informing people and
supporting the challenge to prevailing whole language practice
and promotion (Debbie Hepplewhite)
It will give the LDA enormous kudos to keep providing such a
high-calibre bulletin and will seriously rattle cages of people not
into phonics!
(Debbie Hepplewhite)
I must say that I'm impressed by the level of debate you guys
are having.
(Joe Elliott)
I hope they will continue to give access to their bulletin
as an on-going special offer (Sir Jim Rose)
20 Issues to be faced
•
Conflict between ideology and science
(Why can’t a teacher be more like a scientist?)
•
Widespread adoption of ineffective approaches to teaching of both
reading and maths
(The ‘reading wars’, and the resistance of teachers to adopt evidencebased practice; ‘fuzzy maths’, and the focus on ‘discovery learning’
rather than systematic teaching of the basic processes to provide a
foundation for the mastery of essential concepts in maths)
• The Educational Bureaucracy
(Relies on advice from ‘experts’ which may or may not be evidence–based.
Unable to distinguish between good advice and bad advice.)
• Teacher Training
Inadequate training of teachers to teach reading (and maths) effectively.
Failure to provide teachers with a sound knowledge of the
processes underlying the acquisition of reading skills,
and how to teach these skills effectively
21 Ineffective treatment programs
The failure of the education system to address the needs of
students who have persistent ongoing learning or reading
difficulties has led to the proliferation of (expensive commercial)
programs that offer treatment (and miraculous cures) for learning
difficulties. But little or no evidence that any of these programs
are effective.
22 Examples of Ineffective treatment programs
•
The Dore Prgram
•
The Davis Dyslexia Correction Reading program (Gift of Dyslexia)
•
Irlen Lenses
•
Visual Dyslexia Programs
(Cure for dyslexia in 10 one hour sessions, plus structured home exercises)
•
Brain Gym
•
Arrowsmith Program
•
CogMed
23 What can be done to inform the public of ‘nonevidence based’ treatments and programs
•
Through publication of articles documenting lack of evidence to support
claimed effectiveness of such programs?
(e.g. MUSEC Briefings, articles in publications such as the LDA Bulletin,
the Conversation, etc.)
•
Through presentation of Seminars and Workshops to relevant audiences
to point out the lack of evidence to support such programs?
•
Through the development of ‘advisories’ that can be provided to people
who enquire about such programs?
•
Through the development of some sort of register along the lines of the
Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), to list reading
treatment programs as well as programs for other conditions such as
autism and Attention Deficit Disorder, that have provided
satisfactory evidence of ‘effectiveness’.
24 Question
Is there a case for developing a voluntary register of ‘acceptable’
reading treatment programs indicating different levels of confidence
in the efficacy of the program?
See for example
Anne Castles’ article in LDA Bulletin, November 2012:
Nasty NAPLAN results: What should parents do next?
Tim Hannon’s article in InPsych, December 2013:
Learning Disorders in Children: Recent Advances in Research
and Practice
(see http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/2013#s1)
25 Research Priorities
• Research into the processes underlying the
development of reading and other areas of learning
• Identification of underlying causes - or factors
associated with - learning difficulties
• Identification of effective strategies for assisting
people with learning difficulties
• The application of research findings to the
establishment of effective programs for prevention
or amelioration of problems associated with
learning difficulties
26 Focus on Reading Difficulties
•
Of students identified with a learning difficulty, 80 per cent have
difficulties with reading
•
Reading difficulties affect performance in all areas of learning
•
Reading difficulties often associated with behavioural and other
problems
•
Reading difficulties may be associated with low motivation and
low self esteem
•
Intervention programs need to focus on intensive support for
developing reading and associated skills.
•
Oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary,
fluency and comprehension
27 Challenges for the future
To paraphrase Robert Sweet, President of the US National Right to
Read Foundation, when commenting on the fact that about one third
of the American public cannot read proficiently:
We KNOW that decades of research in reading instruction have
identified the essential elements of an effective reading program
We KNOW that virtually all children can learn to read, if taught correctly
We KNOW that "teaching phonics" can mean different things to different
people, so that not all programs that claim to teach phonics are
effective
We KNOW that there is a solution to the problem, and that change can
occur
Challenges for the future (cont.)
The challenge is to get this message across to
teachers, educational bureaucrats, politicians and
the public, so that the necessary steps can be put
in place for this change to take place.
Learning Difficulties Australia
Thank you
Molly de Lemos (LDA President)
and Alison McMurtrie (LDA Secretary)
For further information on LDA, see our website at ldaustralia.org