The Team-Based Learning Collaborative (TBLC) would like to offer information and updates on all of the committees that help to make TBLC what it is. This month, we’d like to present our Steering Committee and what it does for the organization.

What is the TBLC Steering Committee?
Put simply, the Steering Committee is the leadership team for the collaborative and is comprised of TBLC members who have been elected or appointed to positions of leadership and service within the collaborative. Specifically, the Steering Committee consists of the Executive Committee (President, Past President, President-Elect, and Treasurer), elected members-at-large, committee chairs, regional community chairs, the Annual Meeting Program chair and chair-elect, the expert advisor, the technology advisor, and the collaborative manager. The TBLC President serves as the chair of the Steering Committee You may access a complete list of the Steering Committee members here.

What is the role of the Steering Committee?
The Steering Committee serves as the principal governing body of the TBLC and, as such, provides leadership across all areas of the collaborative. The committee meets monthly by videoconference and annually at the Annual Meeting to discuss current issues affecting the collaborative and to make decisions regarding strategic direction, new initiatives, and utilization of TBLC resources. The various standing committees of the TBLC bring proposals to the Steering Committee for discussion and decisions when they fall outside of the scope of each committee’s autonomy. Members may learn more about the Steering Committee’s role by reading the TBLC bylaws.

What has the Steering Committee been working on recently?
One of the most exciting developments in the history of the TBLC has been our opportunity to support the international spread of TBL by assisting in the formation of regional communities of TBLC members outside of the U.S. Our first regional community to form was the European TBL Community (ETBLC). Most recently, the Asia-Pacific Coalition (APC) was founded in September 2017. For each community, the role of the Steering Committee has been to review and approve their proposal to form a TBLC regional community and to make decisions about how to best support each community through TBLC resources. For example, the TBLC recently approved a funding plan for regional communities that is based on the number of TBLC members residing in the geographic area represented by the regional community.

The Steering Committee has also been involved in work related to supporting all of our members through the provision of TBL resources and opportunities. For example, the Steering Committee is involved in work and discussions related to our certificate and training programs, our resource bank, grant program, and Annual Meeting. As our membership grows and diversifies, we are realizing that the Trainer-Consultant program may not be the best fit for members who wish to earn an official TBLC expertise designation, and we are exploring a multi-tiered approach to certificates. The recent changes with MedEd Portal have caused us to being exploring how our resource bank might be modified to best fit our members’ needs. And, as is typical for any year, during most of our monthly meeting the Steering Committee discusses the programming plans for the Annual Meeting, often with an eye on how we can improve upon the previous year’s programming.

Contacting the Steering Committee
There are several ways TBLC members may raise awareness of issues at the Steering Committee level. If an issue clearly falls in the scope of one of our standing committees, them members are encouraged to contact the committee chair for initial discussion because all committee chairs are also members of the Steering Committee. For issues that are more general or broad in scope, members are welcome to contact the TBLC President who serves as chair of the Steering Committee.