Deb DeGraff (Economics) on Teaching

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Learn more about a consultant, including some of their thoughts on teaching.

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Deb DeGraff
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Teaching Style

My teaching style is fairly structured and relies to a significant extent on lecture. This approach is, in part, a result of teaching a relatively technical and sequentially organized subject and, in part, reflects my own comfort levels. I believe it is both valuable and necessary to make substantial use of lecture in the introductory courses in order to explain and demonstrate tools and concepts that are technically challenging for most students, and to make sure that we get through the material that is required for the courses that follow. Within this overall framework, I strive to create an atmosphere in which students feel comfortable asking questions and I endeavor to engage them and vary the lecture format through a variety of mechanisms (e.g., using small groups to practice a technique that we have just studied, or discussing a "real world" application of some economic concept).

Deb DeGraff (Economics)Beyond the introductory level courses, I rely less heavily on lecture. In the 200-level elective courses, both because they are less technically challenging and are not preparatory for a more advanced course, there is much more flexibility with the curriculum and greater opportunity to involve students. I rely more heavily on class discussion in these courses, using reaction papers (short writing assignments on the readings for the next class) to facilitate this, and also use more small group work during class time. The 200-level required courses and the 300-level seminar are, again, more technically challenging. However, because students are further along in the major, I can engage them more fully in working through analysis in class, either in small groups or collectively. At the 300-level, I continue to guide students in their reading (primarily of journal articles) by providing questions in advance that will not only help them to understand the readings, but also to critique the readings as an economist would. We devote the last few class periods in this course to presentation and peer review of student research papers.

Teaching Challenges

There are several dimensions of teaching that I find challenging. As a fairly extreme "I" on the introvert-extrovert spectrum, I find the "performance" aspect of teaching to be draining. Related to this, I find it difficult to relinquish control of the material to students during class, though this has become easier with experience. Managing these tensions, as suggested above, involves reliance on lecture with course-specific departures from the lecture format that are fairly structured.

I also characterize myself as a planner. My course readings are always fully planned before the semester begins, and the syllabus nearly fully planned regarding the timing and nature of assignments (exams, papers, problems sets, etc.). This level of advance planning and organization comes fairly easily to me, and is essential to my preparation. Within this context, however, it can be stressful if the course evolves in such a way that substantial adjustments are necessary. Experience helps in managing this challenge, but I have also learned to build into the syllabus some room for flexibility, and to not try to cover too much material.

As is true for most faculty, I find that keeping up with grading is a source of stress, particularly in semesters in which I have two relatively large classes. I feel strongly that quick turnaround in grading is important, both to student learning and classroom dynamics (as well as to my own peace of mind!). Rarely do I take longer than a week to return exams, papers or problems sets, but this limits the amount of time available for other work and the rest of life during peak periods of grading.

On a larger scale, finding a good balance between time devoted to teaching, time devoted to research and other professional activities, and one�fs personal life is a constant challenge, and one that is always changing with different life and career stages. This can be particularly difficult when teaching courses that attract relatively large numbers of students and/or have little synergy with one�fs research. While developing systems to enhance efficiency is helpful in managing this challenge day to day, I think it is also important to step back periodically to assess sources of stress and consider possible adjustments in how we use our time.

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