Mindy Avery and Kate Fazio – New South Wales

Kate, a long-time adult LLN tutor, and Mindy have worked together for a number of years, most recently with Kate supporting Mindy to complete the TAFE Statement in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Teaching (ALaNT).

Kate and Mindy exemplify the spirit of the Learning Together Award. Through their collaborative leadership, they have created opportunities for adult learners to become authors, storytellers and cultural knowledge holders. Their work demonstrates the transformative power of partnership, bringing together literacy education, community engagement and Aboriginal voices to create authentic learning experiences. By supporting learners to publish stories that are now used as literacy resources across Australia, they have extended the impact of their unique learning-together relationship to adult learning far beyond the classroom. Their commitment to inclusion, empowerment and lifelong learning makes them outstanding nominees for recognition during Adult Learners’ Week.

Kate and Mindy have a special partnership that is characterised by deep mutual respect and a commitment to reciprocal learning. Through reflective practice, they openly demonstrate how they learn from one another as much as they teach one another. This beautiful model of two-way learning enriches their work, strengthens their impact and inspires learners and colleagues alike. Their relationship shows that learning is most powerful when it is shared.

Kate has often reflected on how much she learns from Mindy through their ongoing conversations as they unpack course content together. It is not unusual for Kate to walk around the office and share with wonder and amazement new insights and layers of meaning she has discovered about ways of learning that may otherwise have remained hidden. Their deeper conversations are so enriching.

Together, Kate and Mindy demonstrate that learning is not a transfer of knowledge from one person to another, but a shared journey of discovery, where Biripi ways of knowing, being and doing enrich and transform understanding for all involved.