I taught economics at UC Santa Cruz between 2020 and 2026: fifteen courses as a teaching assistant, from introductory microeconomics through graduate econometrics, and one, Intermediate Microeconomics, as instructor of record. As Graduate Pedagogy Fellow (2022–2026), I created the department's workshop series for graduate teaching assistants and led it each year for three years. This page collects my teaching statement, sample syllabi for two courses I have designed, a summary of my student evaluations, and the complete evaluation reports.
Student evaluations, 2021–2026
Each dot is the share of a course's respondents answering “frequently” or “very frequently,” averaged within each group of evaluation items; the expandable view below shows each of the ten items separately. The size of a dot is the course's weight in the weighted average for that row, based on its number of respondents and recency. Filled dots are the six in-person courses from Fall 2023 to Winter 2026; open circles are the remote- and hybrid-era courses of 2021–2022. Weighted shares are between 90 and 97 percent on all ten items.
96%felt they could succeed in the class
95%said explanations supported their learning
77%attended three or more optional sections
dot size: weight in the averagein-person, 2023–2026remote/hybrid, 2021–2022weighted average
All ten evaluation items, course by course
Percentages exclude respondents answering “unable to comment.” Weighted averages weight each course-item cell by its respondents times 0.9 per year of recency before Winter 2026; results are within one percentage point of unweighted pooling on every item, and weighted averages computed separately for the in-person and remote-era courses differ by less than four percentage points on every item. The attendance share in the band above covers the five most recent courses: 77 percent of respondents attended three or more of the ten weekly sections; attendance was optional for most respondents. The Summer 2021 course used an agree/disagree scale.
Instructor of record – Intermediate Microeconomics, Summer 2024
Online asynchronous; 11 of 37 students responded to the instructor survey. The course was scheduled in person and moved to asynchronous delivery two weeks before the term; I redesigned the materials and assessment sequence for that format.
Each dot is one respondent. Counts are reported directly, with no weighting; respondents answering “unable to comment” on an item are excluded from that item.
Roles
Graduate Pedagogy Fellow, UCSC Teaching and Learning Center, 2022–2026. Created the economics department's four-session workshop series for graduate teaching assistants – defining learning goals, building active-learning activities for introductory and intermediate courses, giving effective feedback – and led it each year for three years. Separately ran a quarter-long workshop in which TAs met weekly to design their upcoming sections. Participant feedback.
Peer Mentor, Summer GSI Peer Support Team, UCSC Teaching and Learning Center, 2024. Reviewed syllabi and assessment plans with first-time instructors across STEM fields.
Teaching Assistant, UCSC Economics, 2020–2026. Fifteen courses: introductory and intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics, industrial organization, economic rhetoric, and two graduate courses (Applied Econometrics I; Applications in Microeconomics).
Sample Syllabi
Principles of Economics
An introductory course that treats economic models as tools – each with assumptions, applications, and limits – rather than as a set of settled truths. Its learning outcomes ask for judgment as much as technique: identifying which framework fits a given context, distinguishing evidence-based claims from opinion, and tracing how individual decisions and broader economic systems influence each other, across a single arc that runs from agents through markets to systems and ends on growth and inequality. Assessment is built so that persistence converts into points: unlimited-attempt mastery quizzes where only the best score counts, participation graded on effortful completion, and dropped attendances and extensions as automatic policy for everyone. Full syllabus.
Current Debates in Economics
A lower-division economics course run as a discussion seminar, on debates the field has not settled – minimum wages, unions, immigration, discrimination, affirmative action, environmental justice. Students are not asked to take a side; they are graded on how well they frame one: stating each position's premises and conclusions, and identifying what would count as evidence. They lead one class discussion in a small group and develop a staged reflection paper engaging critically and charitably with a debate of their choosing. Full syllabus.
Selected feedback
“I appreciated how interactive Gagandeep made sections. It was helpful that he encouraged every student interact instead of letting one or two students answer everything.”
– Applications in Microeconomics, Spring 2022
“Everyone in section was asked at least one question or another pertaining to the slides, which greatly helped with feeling engaged! If we got an answer wrong, Gagandeep was very encouraging and patient til we were able to find the correct solution – it made the environment a lot less daunting. Additionally, the week of Thanksgiving when sections didn't meet, he sent us a recording of the material from the week on his own time. It was definitely the most engaging and enjoyable section I've been part of.”
– Introductory Macroeconomics, Fall 2023
“The TA made us try to answer to questions before giving us an explanation to make us try to think with our own minds first, and only afterwards we would be told the answer. I think this is really good.”
– Introductory Microeconomics, Winter 2026
“He was able to break down concepts in ways to where I actually understood course material instead of just going through the motions of solving problems using set equations.”
– Intermediate Microeconomics, Winter 2024
“I enjoyed how he encouraged us to participate in section, whether it was writing on the board or writing code on a collaborative Google Doc.”
– Applied Econometrics I (graduate), Fall 2024
“Gagandeep was one of the best teachers I have ever had. He is very passionate about what he does and cares about each and every student. He put in so much effort to create practice problems structured like our midterm questions. I do not think I would have done as well in this course without him.”
– Introductory Microeconomics, Winter 2026
“This training had a strong emphasis on pedagogy and good teaching practices which was completely absent from previous trainings. This was a glaring gap, as many of the entering graduate students are teaching for the very first time.”
– participant, graduate TA pedagogy workshops, Fall 2023
“I am typically pretty shy but I never felt hesitant to ask questions during or outside of section.”