Graduate education is one of the core missions of Johns Hop­kins Medicine. As times change for academic medical centers, we want to keep apace of the trends in medicine. That’s why, as part of our Strategic Plan, we are survey­ing our teaching methods to make sure we continue to provide a modern, world-class education and produce highly successful graduates.

One recent example of this work is the opening of our STILE classroom, which stands for sci­ence, transform, interact, learn and engage.

About two years ago, after tour­ing our Preclinical Teaching Building (PCTB) facilities for graduate educa­tion, I requested a needs list and cost estimates for renovations that could begin immediately. We formed the PCTB Design Committee to consider how to remodel the first-floor space, with the goal of providing innova­tive and updated facilities to support graduate biomedical education and student life.

The group identified two principal needs:

• An active learning classroom to permit a more collaborative style of teaching
• A physical space that promotes interaction among trainees, faculty members and staff members, lead­ing to a stronger community

A few months ago, we celebrated the opening of the STILE classroom, as well as renovations to Mountcastle Auditorium and an adjacent class­room, which represent the first phase of this work to create more state-of-the-art teaching spaces.

The STILE classroom offers a more engaging and interactive teaching en­vironment. A “flipping the classroom” instructional method enables students to watch a lecture online at their own pace and then come to class pre­pared for deep discussion. A flipped classroom also enables information delivery to move from lecture-based to interactive, which is why students come to Johns Hopkins—to interact with and learn from the best scientists in the world in a dynamic, intellectual environment.

The opening of the STILE classroom represents a sizable step forward toward the goals of our Strategic Plan. It helps us ensure that biomedical education at Johns Hopkins is trans­formative, with creative and innova­tive methods of instruction, and that we are building an effective culture and infrastructure for learning across Johns Hopkins Medicine.

A vital piece of our tripartite mis­sion is setting a standard of excellence in education to produce tomorrow’s leaders in health care. That is why we need to keep refining our methods and continuously improving to lead this change.

Learn more about STILE classrooms at bit.ly/stilemedjhm.