Our people
Professor Jill Adler was awarded a SARChI Chair in Mathematics Education in 2009. This provided the platform from which to launch the WMCS project in 2010. As Project Director from 2010-2019, she built a dynamic and diverse team committed to the research and development goals of the project. Building on her prior work, and with the opportunity to work closely with teachers in their classrooms, Jill led the conceptualisation of Mathematics Discourse in Instruction (MDI) which underpinned much of the research and development work in WMCS. Jill’s leadership and vision established a space where hard work was mandatory, where challenging conventional “research wisdom” was the norm, but where people and their personal growth were always the priority. Since 2010, Jill received several awards in recognition of her contribution to mathematics education locally and internationally.
Associate Professor Craig Pournara, who was Project Manager from 2010, led the professional development work (and completed his PhD in the middle of it). This included the highly successful Transition Maths 1 course for teachers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was not possible to work in schools or in-person with teachers, he rallied the team to develop a vast collection of worksheets for teachers and learners. Craig’s quest to offer the best maths teacher professional development in the country, provided many learning opportunities for postgraduate fellows to develop and refine their own knowledge and skills as teacher educators.
Ms Nomonde Mda began her journey with the project as the Administrator but soon moved into the role of Financial Officer, where she patiently navigated the Wits HR and Finance systems. Nomonde’s wisdom, patience, tenacity, hard work and “we can solve it” disposition were key in dealing with payments, budgets, contracts and in managing frustrated staff and postgraduate fellows.
Ms Nokunqoba (Constance) Masengemi joined the team in 2016, taking over the position of Administrator. This made her office the first stop for visitors, and the dumping ground for deliveries. She was also the go-to person for pens, pencils, board markers and biscuits!!! By her own admission, her time with the primary and secondary projects taught her to appreciate the role the teacher plays in a child’s life and the hard-work involved behind the scenes.