George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

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■■ lT’5 A 5D-5D PROPS Gambling in class? Not real gambling but rather the analysis of various games of luck. This was only one of several projects undertaken by the students in the Probability and Statistics class. The semester course was open to anyone with a background in Algebra II. Nine weeks were devoted to the study of probability, and for the remainder of the semester statistics were investigated. While studying statistics, the students did mathematical analyses of standardized tests for the Guidance Department. After compiling their calculations, the students looked for patterns in the results. Although Probability and Statistics was not a new course, the teacher was. Mr. Jeffrey King was assigned to it after the retirement of the original teacher. A different approach was used, and the students were free to decide what to study as a class. Most of the usually tedious math work was eliminated by the occasional use of electronic calculators. Even though this recent addition to the Math Department receiver! little recognition, the students involved increased their knowledge in the field of mathematics and had fun doing it. - c Proving and reasoning play important parts in Mr. Arthur Holdt's geometry class. With the uso of the overhead-projector, Mr. Ed ward Anderson explains some of the basic prince pies of Calculus. I

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Further diversifying the Social Studies program, a course in Psychology was offered for the first time. Interested Seniors had an opportunity to study this controversial subject. Among the course's objectives were the study of human behavior and the discovery of the motivations of the mind in relation to its actions. 8y probing their own problems, the students aimed to gain a more accurate understanding of personality development in themselves and in the people around them. Studying self-expression led to interesting class discussions on body language and recognizing what other people are trying to say. Many traditional values were questioned as students began establishing themselves as individuals in a complex society. In addition,the history of the field of psychology was studied to augment the course. Feelings about the value of the class weighed heavily in its favor. A large majority of those taking part in the new program were enthusiastic about the variety of material offered. They felt that the class was especially effective in giving them insight and a greater perspective of themselves. A few students, however, felt that the class lacked participation, motivation, and a goal. But those in favor of it felt that the course's benefits far outnumbered its drawbacks.

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 lorry Wellbum concentrates on the data as the computer relays its anssver by telephone. FORTRAN? COBOL? SPL? Strange symbols from a foreign language? Almost. These are different types of computer programming “languages” which were mentioned in Marshall's Computer Science classes. Since its beginning in '73-74, the Computer Science class enrollment has greatly increased. A three hundred percent growth in the number of students taking the course resulted in an expansion to three classes per semester. In Computer Science, the basic programming of the computer was stressed with a little background on the history of the computer. More than one half of the class time was spent working with the computer. The students learned the computer language, BASIC, and then used the computer to run programs of problems they had to solve. The stu- dents' grades were determined by the accumulation of points on given programs. A text was used only as a reference source on the programming language. The computer was not only benificial to the Computer Science classes but to the rest of the school as well. Many students programmed the computer for use in almost any class. The addition of a CRT terminal, similar to a television screen, helper! to broaden the range of studies available to the student. With such interest in the computer, there were plans of expanding Computer Science to a year long course with different levels of computer programming. In any case, the Marshall computer terminals have provided students with general operating techniques and a good background in computer programming. BASICS STRESSED ir l PFQBMflfllNG