Thank you for expressing interest in the Making of the Modern World (MMW) Program! We look forward to working with graduate student Teaching Assistants (TAs) who seek to develop as teachers and learners and who are committed to strengthening students’ analytical and writing skills and to supporting their well-being.   

MMW is the General Education core program of Eleanor Roosevelt College (ERC). MMW has an interdisciplinary approach that is broadly grounded in world history and provides instruction in research and writing.  MMW is a foundational experience for all ERC students, serving as an academic manifestation of a central aspect of ERC’s mission for international connection and global understanding.  MMW promotes our global diversity and equips students with a broad understanding of the past and its relationship to the present. 

MMW is a five-course, lower-division sequence for students entering as freshmen (MMW 11 -15) and a two-course, upper-division sequence for students entering as transfer students (MMW 121-122).

For MMW learning objectives and course descriptions, please see the MMW website.

Job Responsibilities and Program Support

MMW is taught in high-enrollment courses consisting of faculty-led lectures and TA-led discussion sections. TAs with a 50% appointment should expect to spend an average of 20 hours/week meeting their MMW job responsibilities.

MMW TAs attend lectures, complete the assigned readings and prompts assigned by the course and program faculty, lead discussion section activities that foster student engagement with course content and hone analytical and writing abilities, teach the writing assignments, and evaluate and provide feedback on assignments.

TAs new to the MMW program teach in the first year of the five-quarter sequence (MMW 11, 12, 13). During Fall term, new TAs must enroll in the MMW 501 seminar, which provides pedagogical training and support, while also teaching in MMW 11. 

MMW 11 TAs attend three hours of lecture per week, meet with two 50-minute sections of 30 students each once per week, and hold two office hours per week.  

MMW 12 and MMW 13 TAs attend three hours of lecture per week, meet with two 50-minute sections of 16 students each twice per week, and hold two office hours per week.

MMW 14, MMW 15, MMW 121, and MMW 122 TAs attend three hours of lecture per week, meet with two 50-minute sections of 28 students each once per week, and hold two office hours per week. 

Before each term begins, TAs attend orientations led by program faculty and staff. 

MMW provides ongoing pedagogical support with teaching resources and materials to support lesson planning, discussions, feedback to students, and grading criteria. This support is provided in regular meetings with program staff and course faculty, email communications, and an online teaching manual. TAs can also enroll in a 4-credit graduate pedagogy course, MMW 501, which provides ongoing pedagogical development by fostering an intentional teaching and learning community in MMW.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must have completed the UCSD Teaching & Learning Commons’ Introduction to College Teaching course and/or must have experience in teaching and evaluating academic writing. Applicants should discuss these qualifications in their letter of application.

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