The Team-Based Learning Collaborative (TBLC) would like to offer information and updates on all the committees that help to make TBLC an effective organization. This month, we’d like to present our Training and Certification Committee’s (TCC) mission and activities.

The TCC designs and oversees the professional certification of educators who will serve as trainer-consultants for other educators. The mission of trainer-consultants is to promote the practice of excellent, high-fidelity team-based learning.

The 2017 Meeting again offered the workshop on “Becoming a Trainer-Consultant in Team-Based Learning.” This workshop is the initial orientation for those seeking certification, after which candidates progress toward achievement of six competencies under the guidance of a mentor. Evidence supporting competency is summarized in a portfolio created by the candidate in collaboration with their mentor. The TCC reviews all portfolios using 26 pre-determined criteria to determine the candidate’s readiness for certification.

The TCC has reviewed feedback from the 2017 Meeting and will be making some changes in order to improve the workshop. These changes include better communication about fees and registration for the workshop and revisions of the workshop syllabus. The peer evaluation component of the TC workshop is under review in light of other peer evaluation workshops offered in the general meeting.

Currently, only Duke-National University of Singapore and the TBLC offer pathways to become certified as a Trainer-Consultant. We’re currently investigating the possibility of developing a similar pathway to certification for educators in Europe and the United Kingdom. This will allow our European colleagues to decrease their travel and meeting costs while pursuing certification.

The TCC plans to create a “Practitioner” certification program. This would certify those who meet four of the six trainer-consultant competences (fundamental understanding of TBL theory and practice, creating a TBL module, designing and implementing peer evaluation, and delivering basic TBL workshops for educators).

For information on how to become a certified trainer-consultant, please contact the TBLC Support Team at support@tblcadmin.org. Details about registration for the 2018 Trainer-Consultant Workshop will be available on the 2018 annual meeting website.