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Linking Youth to New Experiences

I95 Business Magazine  |  Linda Esterson Grasmick’s LYNX Program Transforms Public Education   A few years ago, Laurene Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, launched an effort to innovate America’s high schools. She pledged $50 million, inviting school personnel and business leaders to submit proposals for funding needed to launch new initiatives. While this was in process, talks already were underway at Towson University to determine how to reinvent the traditional public high school in Maryland. The effort, led by Nancy Grasmick, Ph.D., Towson University’s...
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New frontiers in education

The Baltimore Sun  |  Gregory J. Alexander, Contributing writer New frontiers in education New high-tech facilities change the face of learning   Long gone are the days where a professor stands at a lectern at the front of the class, while students feverishly take handwritten notes. Nowhere is this more evident than the new Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center at the University of Maryland. The 187,000-square-foot space, which includes 12 classrooms and nine teaching labs with a total of 1,500 seats, is a stunning building focused on a student-centered approach to...
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Does Redesigning Classrooms Make a Difference to Students?

Chronicle of Higher Education  |  Shannon Najmabadi When Melissa Hayes-Gehrke set foot in a new active-learning classroom here at the University of Maryland, she says it felt like "coming home." Ms. Hayes-Gehrke, a principal lecturer in astronomy on this flagship campus, had begun incorporating active learning into her lectures years ago, asking students to conduct group work and watch instructional videos before coming to class. But she’d taught in a traditional classroom, with rows of seats jammed together and bolted to the floor. They all faced a podium at one end of the...
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A New Level of Learning and Teaching

TERP  |  Lauren Brown Take a spin in the newest building at Maryland to discover the classrooms of the future. The Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center, named for the Baltimore developer, philanthropist and 1961 alumnus who donated $10 million toward its construction, opened in May with the ambitious goal of transforming teaching and learning on campus. “It’s exciting that the vision for a space that will transform the classroom experience and shape the way faculty teach has come to fruition.” –Edward St. John ’61, D.P.S. ’12 (HON.), Founder and Chairman...
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Edward St. John attends dedication ceremony of new UMD building named after him

The Diamondback  |  Angela Jacob About 250 guests, faculty and student volunteers gathered in the recently completed Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center on Thursday for the building's dedication ceremony. Guests included Edward St. John himself, various members of his foundation and campus, city and state officials. The large lecture hall, which can seat 238, used for the ceremony was filled, with some people standing in the back. University President Wallace Loh thanked everyone for attending the ceremony despite the rain. The event comes less than three weeks...
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Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center at the University of Maryland Will Transform the Classroom Experience

University of Maryland Dedicated today, the first new academic building constructed on McKeldin Mall in more than 50 years will serve as a national model of collaborative learning   COLLEGE PARK, Md.,May 11, 2017 -- The University of Maryland dedicated the new Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center today, named for Baltimore-based developer, philanthropist and 1961 alumnus,Edward St. John, founder and chairman of St. John Properties. The 187,000-square-foot space, which includes 12 classrooms and nine teaching labs with a total of 1,500 seats, will elevate the culture of...
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UMD’s new biz center is getting creative with classroom layout

Technical.ly /Baltimore | Stephen Babcock A Baltimore developer’s name adorns a new University of Maryland building that’s looking to break with traditional lecture models and encourage entrepreneurship. The Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center, which was officially dedicated in College Park on Thursday, has a mix of classrooms and teaching labs. The TERP (Teach, Engage, Respond and Participate) classrooms arrange the furniture differently than typical classrooms, whether in round tables or mobile desks. They also have tech to share screens. The building also has lots of...
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Take a look inside UMd.’s newest classroom building, named after developer Edward St. John

Baltimore Business Journal  |  Melody Simmons COLLEGE PARK — The bucolic and famous green that runs through the University of Maryland College Park campus got a new look this week. The Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center was dedicated Thursday morning with 12 new high-tech classrooms and nine chemistry labs that are expected to hold upwards of 12,000 students a day. The 187,000-square-foot center cost $120 million and will allow university officials to continue a push to renovate and update dozens of other existing classrooms on campus. St. John, founder and chairman of...
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Building a Commitment to Learning and Teaching

TERP  | Veronica Meinhard St. John Center Opens With Grand Ambitions for How Classrooms Work   When Edward St. John enrolled at the University of Maryland 60 years ago this fall, he remembers classes following a formula: A professor lectured to a room of hundreds of students. Those students listened. The end. Faculty or students using the campus’s newest building will enjoy a much different experience. University officials say the Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center, which officially opens May 11 and is named for the 1961 alumnus and real estate developer and...
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Living Classrooms celebrates new school building in Harbor East

The Baltimore Sun  |  Erica L. Green A top-rated charter school is celebrating its move from temporary trailers to a new state-of-the-art building in Harbor East. The Living Classrooms Foundation announced the completion of its new campus, which will house The Crossroads School, on South Caroline Street near Harbor East. The building, made possible by a $800,000 gift from the Edward St. John Foundation will be named after the donor. The 12-classroom building will house 162 middle schoolers from East Baltimore, who will have access to more technology and other amenities,...