TOPS undergraduate FAQ

Do I need to be present throughout TOPS?

Yes, It is important that all TOPS participants be available throughout the program. Because TOPS students work in teams, absence would cause a major disruption. There is so much to do that participants find themselves fully occupied. The staff will naturally accommodate an emergency problem, but otherwise TOPS is a full time job.

What is the TOPS schedule?

TOPS activities are scheduled Monday through Friday. In addition, design, preparation and practice will occupy some evening and weekend hours. Two weekend social activities are planned and on other weekends there is a lot to do around the Boston/Cambridge area. TOPS concludes with a picnic on the final day.

In the first few days participants learn teaching strategies and explore the resources available to them. During the first two weeks they design, prepare and rehearse the classes they will teach. In the third week, TOPS students put their ideas into practice by teaching middle school students. The students spend the following week extending the material to teach at the high school level. The fifth and sixth weeks are devoted to teaching high school students. Other TOPS activities include visits to the laboratories of the Center for Ultracold Atoms and talks by some of the CUA’s researchers.

How much teaching experience will I get?

During the middle school program each 4-person team teaches every day for half a day. In the high school program each morning class is repeated in the afternoon to a different group of high school students. Each TOPS undergrad teaches one of these double classes every other day. In addition, rehearsals and practice teaching are important parts of the program.

What are the housing arrangements?

TOPS students are housed together in one of the MIT dorms.  The rooms are single rooms.

What teaching resources are available?

TOPS has a large inventory of apparatus and teaching materials and new materials are added as new hands-on activities are developed.