Math & Science Supervisor Encourages Independent Learning

• Name: Denise Hinkle has been Montville Township’s supervisor of math, business and Science, for grades Kindergarten through 12 since December 2010. Traditionally, in Montville, supervision of the math and science curriculums has been in the hands of two separate people. This year it was combined. One of the factors which drew Hinkle to the position was that she liked the idea of integrating the two subjects. “There are a lot of the same strategies,” Hinkle said. “A lot of connections with the curriculum itself.”
• Married: Hinkle is married. She and her husband have two adult daughters. The couple lives in Franklin Township, where Hinkle was a school administrator prior to coming to Montville Township. She had lived in Morris County for a while at one time, and was familiar with the Montville community. She liked that it is known for valuing education.
• Position: “What I enjoy doing is working with teachers,” Hinkle said. “We look at the curriculum and manage that, and also instructional strategies.” Hinkle works with her teachers to research effective instructional strategies, as well as effective techniques for meeting the varied needs of students, and ways to teach 21st century curriculum. “The goal as always is to improve instruction and improve student learning,” she said. “By modifying what’s taught and how it’s taught then we hope the students learn more.”
• Career: “I like being a student. That’s probably the primary reason for gravitating into the educational field,” Hinkle said. Hinkle’s interest in teaching started in Sunday school, and was encouraged during her high school years, where she volunteered to be a teacher assistant while at Lakeland High school in Passaic County. She studied at Douglas College at Rutgers, and did her graduate work at Montclair. Hinkle began her teaching career as a high school math teacher. “I didn’t like arithmetic when I was in elementary school,” Hinkle admitted. “I started liking math in high school with algebra.” But, after years of teaching, Hinkle found that her favorite age group to teach was adults. “Being a supervisor is perfect,” she said.
• Goals: “I think in every district there are things for teachers to learn. Just like the teacher looks at what the students need to learn, I’m looking at what the teachers need to learn,” Hinkle said. “Also it’s a matter of trying to be consistent across the district.”
• Current Initiatives: “For teachers to have a variety instruction for different students. To really look at ‘what do your students need to make them better learners?’ and try to have some different strategies and different activities according to students needs,” Hinkle said. Through differentiated instruction, Hinkle feels students will become better learners whose communication and critical thinking skills will be enhanced.
• Hobbies:  “I’ve been a distance runner for several years,” Hinkle said. However, recent back issues have limited her jogging. Now Hinkle and her husband are doing more hiking. Up next is a major Grand Canyon hike. “We’re excited about that. We’ve been there before, and we enjoy that.”
• Philosophy: “I think that all children need to have practice and develop learning to think and learning to communicate their ideas. I think those are two key understandings and habits that we don’t really attend to as much as we should. We’re often focused on the content and specifics, and really not allowing students to be independent learners and letting them try things out and not always handing them everything.” Hinkle feels that the trend in society is to help students too much. If students are given everything, “then when they are their own they struggle,” she said.
• Favorite Thing About Montville:  “The students want to do what others want them to do, which I think is good. Generally good behavior,” Hinkle said. “The administrators and teachers are a lot of really talented professionals, really interested in their profession, and really promoting what they teach. That’s exciting too. To work with people who really care about the profession and help each other learn.”  
• Something She Would Like to See Changed: To help students be independent learners and try to help teachers and parents recognize that students need to experience the thrill of achievement on their own. That thrill comes as a result of “What you’ve done, not because of what someone else has handed you.”

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