Sara Black

Experience

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  Korbitec

  Feb 2004 - Dec 2007

  Software Developer
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  Gosford Hill Secondary School

  Apr 2008 - Jul 2010

  As a full-time mathematics teacher, my responsibilities included:* design, development, execution and evaluation of daily lesson plans and activities* design and management of macro plans of lessons against the departmental scheme of work* liaising with colleagues within department and across faculties to develop new activities, schemes of learning and approaches to teaching new material. Development cross-curricular projects and opportunities for learning* behaviour management* consistent communication with parents and guardians in all regards of all students' development* child protection* pastoral care and monitoring of allocation students* extra-mural activities after school hours: music, drama productions, chess club* differentiation of the curriculum to meet all students' needs* development and maintenance of detailed student-specific profiles regarding attainment, strengths and weaknesses and progress* development of support strategies and structures for students on the SEN register, including liaising with their allocated Teaching Assistants* development of support strategies and structures for students for whom English was an Additional Language, including liaising with the EAL school specialist. Show less I worked with specific students who had special needs and requirements within a comprehensive mainstream secondary school. Responsibilities included: * acting as emmanuensis and scribe for the students during assessments* maintaining a detailed profile for each student, their needs and vulnerabilities, their strengths and strategies that worked for them * liaising the teachers regarding the student's subject-specific support * liaising with the student's parents regarding their progress and development at school* self-development and training on specific Special Education Needs conditions and strategies to assist with these. Show less

  • Mathematics Teacher

    Sept 2008 - Jul 2010

  • Teaching Assistant: Special Education Needs

    Apr 2008 - Sept 2008
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  University of Cape Town

  Jan 2011 - Apr 2020

  I assisted the UCT School of Education with processing the applications for students who wished to study a PGCE at UCT for the year 2016, as a stop-gap between other full-time holders of this position. Completing this role included the need to be familiar with the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications policy document, as well as the National Qualifications Framework. My responsibilities in this role included: 1. advising students who enquired about the PGCE programme, including whether they were eligible or what additional qualifications they might've required2. processing all PGCE applications3. coordinating any further application procedures, including RPL processes, applicant interviews, concessions etc. 4. liaising with the School of Education and PGCE management about the progress with applications5. developing new technological solutions (e.g. use of MailMerge to provide students with bespoke registration guidance) to specific process flow constraints to streamline the application and registration processes for the programme. The PGCE is the largest programme at the UCT School of Education by enrolment. Show less I piloted, convened and delivered the course "IsiXhosa for Educators" at the University of Cape Town as part of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, UCT's teacher development programme. All PGCE students who are not exempt through prior acquisition of South African official languages (excluding English and Afrikaans) are mandated to take the course. Successful completion of the course is a prerequisite for graduating as a qualified teacher. Teaching a mandatory course that poses a potential barrier to qualification posed many interesting challenges, not the least of which was student reticence to learning a new language as an adult. The course offered fantastic opportunities for trainee teachers to undertake identity work in a politically charged and diverse space such as South Africa, and more immediately, the Western Cape. While language acquisition in a single year is not a realistically attainable goal, the true benefit of teaching trainee teachers isiXhosa was how it positioned them as language learners, giving them an empathetic exercise to understand better how their own students face language barriers in schooling daily. It also provided opportunity for frank and difficult discussion to talk about the power bestowed by being a native speaker of an economically dominant language such as English. Show less My Masters thesis address teachers' dispositions and beliefs about their work in a rural secondary school in the Eastern Cape. In particular, I focused on mathematics teachers and their epistemological construction of their subject, along with the language factor in a rural classroom and how these teachers perceived issues of linguistic access as relevant or irrelevant to their work as maths teachers. I received an average of 82% for the thesis and 81% for the Masters overall, including coursework. Show less

  • PhD Candidate

    Jan 2018 - Apr 2020

  • PhD student

    Jan 2016 - Apr 2020

  • Analyst: HEI response to draft Minimum Requirements of Teacher Education Qualifications

    Feb 2019 - Mar 2019

  • NQT Project Coordinator

    Jan 2016 - Jan 2018

  • PGCE student admissions coordinator

    Apr 2015 - Dec 2015

  • Lecturer: isiXhosa for Educators

    Jan 2014 - Dec 2015

  • Masters Student

    Jan 2011 - Dec 2015
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  School Development Unit, UCT

  Oct 2011 - Nov 2011

  Chief Examiner, Grade 6 Mathematics, Western Cape

  Responsibility for quality assurance on the marking process for the standardised mathematics tests at Grade 6 level in the Western Cape.

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  Silikamva High School

  Jan 2013 - Dec 2013

  Mathematics Teacher

  I was part of a team establishing a new high school in Hout Bay to serve the children of Imizamo Yethu in 2013.My responsibilities at the school included:-serving on the Senior Management Team-Secretary of the School Governing Body-child welfare liaison with social services and other supportive parties-Head of Mathematics at the school-timetabling the academic schedule of the school-working with my mentor group and conducting home visits (pastoral care)-running extra mural activities and intervention classes after school and on Saturdays....amongst others. Show less

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  Centre for Innovation in Learning Teaching, UCT

  Sept 2019 - Jan 2022

  COOL Research Fellow
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  University of Johannesburg

  Apr 2020 - now

  • Research Associate, Centre for Education Rights and Transformation

    Jan 2021 - now

  • Postdoctoral Fellow

    Apr 2020 - Jan 2022
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  King's College London

  Jan 2022 - now

  Lecturer

  I am a lecturer at King's College London, specialising in education leadership, management and policy studies.