TIP-TOP
Teaching Improvement - Teaching Observation Program

TIP-TOP is a voluntary peer mentorship program participated in by faculty of all levels and consists of observation of teaching followed by a feedback session. Established in 2005 and directed by the Faculty Development Working Group, TIP-TOP serves faculty across the School of Medicine, and working group members have given workshops on TIP-TOP to faculty and administrators of the School of Nursing, which is now piloting the program in the Masters Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN). Faculty from across UCSF are welcome to attend the TIP-TOP mentor orientation and training workshops given by working group members several times each year; please see below.

TIP: Any UCSF faculty member (the mentee) can request to observe an Academy member (the mentor) teach, and the mentee and mentor meet afterward to discuss the teaching session. TIPs are requested by individual faculty and by course directors on behalf of new faculty. Please refer to the Membership Directory for potential mentors.

Please click here to arrange a TIP session


TOP: An Academy member (the mentor) who has been trained in observation and feedback techniques observes a colleague (the mentee) in a teaching session, and gives feedback afterward. These sessions can be requested by individual faculty members, course and clerkship directors, etc. In this mentee-driven process, the individual being observed may request feedback on the teaching session as a whole, or may ask their mentor to focus on specific aspects of their teaching, e.g.:

  • Using PowerPoint effectively
  • Engaging an audience
  • Emphasizing main points
  • Improving the pace and flow of a presentation

Please click here to submit a TOP request for yourself or for your course or clerkship

Materials for TOP

Faculty Development after TOP: Please refer to our Faculty Resources page

Mentoring is a collaborative effort: attend a TIP-TOP orientation workshop.

Led by experienced mentors, the workshops begin with a discussion about mentoring peers, followed by role-playing exercises in which participants give and receive feedback and then discuss their own reactions to those techniques. Participants learn new approaches and feedback techniques, and are then qualified to participate as mentors in the popular TIP-TOP program. The workshop schedule for the 2009-2010 academic year is:

Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 9:00-10:30am, LR-213

Thursday, January 14, 2010, noon-1:30pm, location TBA

Monday, March 8, 9:00-10:30am, location TBA