Los Angeles Valley College - Crown Yearbook (Valley Glen, CA)

Page 26 text:

Learning through involvement

Page 25 text:

Students who might fall behind in classes because they need supplemen- tary drill have found they can easily keep up with their classmates. How? With a learning machine. Firmly established at Valley is an altogether new concept in education- the Study Skills Center featuring a scientifically structured lesson given by machines. Anyone walking past Bungalow 36 wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. There are no gigantic in- struments, lights blinking, keys tabula- ting, or wires coming out of the heads of students working with the machines. A learning machine is about the size of a notebook but contains much more. And although inexpensive to pur- chase, the machines are priceless con- sidering the knowledge that can be obtained from them. Valley has six such machines. They are manually powered and are avail- able to all students interested in learning. No grades, no cost, all that is in- volved is time and effort. Students work and learn at their own speed and with the help of the blue machine they tutor themselves. Simple instructions from Allan Keller starts a student out right in a session withthe learning machines. 0' ,if , Algebra, arithmetic, electricity, gram- mar, punctuation, spelling, elementary physiology and statistics are subjects offered at the Study Skills Center. It was Dr. B. F. Skinner, psycholo- gist at Harvard, who perfected the idea of the study machine. He, along with others, realized how effectively subject drill by machine conditions the student. For example, spelling courses start where the student needs help. It may be at the middle of the course or at the beginning. The alphabet, its divisions, consonants and vowels, long and short vowel sounds and association of spelling with sound are basic ideas presented by the machine. w Mr. Allan Keller, counselor and head ofthe Study Skills Center, helps a student choose the portion of a course most suitable to her needs. When a-student needs help in course fundamentals, the machine starts at the beginning, going over and over the material until the student has a firm foundation. At the end of each study unit, the machine offers a test. If the student feels he has passed-that he knows the subject-he goes on to the next assign- ment. If necessary, the machine starts over again. Other forms of this concept in learn- ing have been successful at other schools. At Valley, as at other colleges, sessions with a study machine may be the secret of success for many students. 23 l v LA

Page 27 text:

,W 42:1 -fv- Y., S.. Marianne Whitley, Barbara Taylor and Betty Dunham try on costumes in Valley's Green and Gold Room in preparation for a Shakespearean presentation. Involvement is the key to the success of English 15, Valley's Shakespeare class. '4The person learns when he becomes involvedf' says Mrs. Nancy Ferguson, the class instructor. This applies not only to the students in the Shake- speare class but also to faculty members who delight in visiting the class and performing scenes from the famous English plays. When the class is studying a particular play, the play is first read, researched and dis- cussed. Sometimes the class will write a com- parative paper on critical reviews of the play. Shakespearean plays are often performed in class. Imagination has a major role in class- room performances because costumes are not always worn. Mrs. Ferguson reads the plays with the students. She has done theatrical and radio productions with such noted actors as John Barrymore and Hans Conreid, who has visited the class on several occasions. '4She seems to emphasize the right words, said Shakespeare student Betty Dunham of Mrs. Ferguson. l'She is a really good scholar and actress and makes the class entertaining and exciting as well as informative. The character portrayals of the students are so fascinating that students peeking in the class- room windows often find them.selves entering the room and staying the remainder of the class hour. While the class is not primarily one of drama, acting is a featured facet of the class. Many of the students are talented in the areas of music, and in such instances singing, dancing and instruments are worked into the plays. Trying on costumes in the Green and Gold Room is part of the semester's activity. The class wears costumes at least once during the course, a colorful sight draws the interest of many students, faculty and administration members. 1 lt's such a fat part, says Hans Conreid Uncle Tonoose of T.V. fame, speaking of Hamlet to Valley Shakespeare Many of the students are not drama or English majors, but all take an active part in the class, contributing and carrying away in- formation. Betty Dunham, an education major, has found the English 15 material helpful for her speech class. The majority of her other classes benefited her from 'fexperience gained in research. ' Terry Henley has found Mdeeper insights and a deeper impression of what Shakespeare means and can meanf' The students study the plays, Hnot as dead scholarly things, but as plays with people- live peoplef' points out Mrs. Ferguson, and the classroom is the laboratory for developing creativity. students