De Marchi Shows Economy of Teaching Style
Economics professor Neil De Marchi is familiar with the evaluations that his classes receive.
The students enjoy his enthusiastic presentations, even when the material is introductory macroeconomics or the history of economic thought.
They appreciate the amount of time he spends in his office or at The Perk discussing their papers or projects.
In fact, they like nearly everything about De Marchi, the winner of a Trinity College teaching award this year, except his blasted tests.
"My tests in my introductory macroeconomics class always confound the students because I tell them my view of a test is not to have you tell me what you know. What I'm interested in is seeing whether can you use that knowledge in an unfamiliar situation. That's very upsetting to some. Some scream, some dissolve into tears, some think this is unfair and I always get a lot of comments, 'Well the course was OK for these and these and these reasons, but the tests were grossly unfair.'
"I stick to that, nonetheless. Why would I be interested in seeing what you know? Of course you're supposed to know that. I'm interested to see whether it's done any good for you. So I give them questions that require them to interpret data they have never seen, interpret a situation they've never encountered. That may be part of the success. But I don't care whether they're happy or not; if that helps them later on to recognize they've acquired an analytical capability, it can't do them harm in the real world."
De Marchi knows his testing method works for some students: "Afterwards, I hear from many that that was what they liked about the course. Painful, but they liked it."
It is true that De Marchi expects a lot from his students, but certainly no more than what he demands from himself. A native of Australia who as a Rhodes Scholar studied economics at the University of Oxford, De Marchi began teaching at Duke in 1971. Over the last 30 years, he has prepared anew for each course he teaches, even if it's a topic he's taught many times before. "I work very hard on my courses, but in the least efficient way. I don't exemplify the efficiency of the economist, but I suppose that works in some classes. It is true that I'm never bored."
His curiosity about topics that initially may seem unrelated to his field often lead to some unusual course offerings. For example, he and Hans Van Miegroet, an associate professor of art history, are planning a new class that explores the art market. They are also exploring a certificate program for undergraduates interested in careers in art administration, including as curators or gallery directors.
In addition, De Marchi has created a series of capstone seminars where seniors can integrate and apply the tools of economics learned in prior courses to relevant economic issues.
Ruth Grant, an associate professor of political science who co-taught a class with De Marchi on "Economics, Society and Morality in 18th Century Thought," said De Marchi "treats the classroom as an opportunity to create a good conversation; he expects the students to engage seriously with the texts and with each other's ideas; he experiments with ideas and approaches; and he conveys, without a trace of pedantry, the intrinsic importance of the matter at hand. All of this comes quite naturally to him."
Grant also noted that De Marchi places a great deal of emphasis on students coming up with original research papers. "I admit I was a bit skeptical of this aspect of the course when we put the course together, but the students rose to the challenge," Grant wrote in a letter endorsing De Marchi's nomination for the teaching award. "The end product was really quite remarkable, as was the process. Neil was willing to put considerable time into one-on-one consultation on these papers, and the students were sufficiently motivated to take advantage of the opportunity."
In addition to his teaching skills, De Marchi is a prolific researcher. He's also served terms as the department's chair and director of undergraduate studies.
Current economics chair Marjorie McElroy said De Marchi "serves as a role model for other teachers in the department. Neil has a very active, successful and exciting research career. Yet he never lets his teaching suffer in consequence. He insists that his research enrich his classes and makes the sometimes Herculean efforts necessary to make it so."
De Marchi said he is "tickled pink" about receiving the teaching award. "It seems like a lifetime achievement award. Some people are star leading men, some are star supporting males, others are good directors. I haven't received any accolades in those categories, so the lifetime achievement seems to be most applicable here. I've worked hard at this for a long time."