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Show Individualizing Educational Experience Is Goal of Special Training Program LOGAN As you approach the area you are reminded of the molecular movement of atoms; constantly influencing influenc-ing each other in change. Taking time to stop and truly see beyond the surface. hum of human activity, you discover real people with a multitude of "learnings" taking tak-ing place. The scene described here can be found at Edith Bowen Laboratory School in Ele- mentary Education at - Utah State University. It is here ' that administrators and teachers tea-chers are directing their classrooms toward the open classroom design popular in the British Infant Schools. The philosophy behind the technique is to make the educational experience a ' more individualized and, here fore, more meaningful experience ex-perience .to the child. Tha goals are met in many different differ-ent ways more interaction with peers, wider range o ' resources and learning tools, more personnel available to aid in guiding experiences and locating materials. The physical setting is different dif-ferent in the Bowen classroom. class-room. Tables ami learning; and manipulative materials and varied media for the senses make the school world come alive. The emphasis on individual individ-ual learning requires addi- . tional; trained personnel in the classroom and additional . equipment. The necessary adults ad-ults are provided in part by a National Educational Development De-velopment Act grant now in its third year at Edith Bowen. Bow-en. Under the direction of Miss Jean Pugmire, associate professor pro-fessor of elementary education, educa-tion, the project enrolls teachers teach-ers and aides from various Utah school districts to par- ticipate in an 18-week train-irg-experience. Dr. Kenneth Farrer is co-director co-director and orginator of the project and Dr. Arthur Jackson Jack-son is principal of the laboratory labor-atory elementary school. Other administrative personnel person-nel on the project are Bruce Arneklev, research coordinator; coordin-ator; Teed Morrill, community commun-ity coordinator; Joan Thork-ildsen, Thork-ildsen, special education lid-son, lid-son, and Muriel Robbert, elementary ele-mentary educatiou liason. Children with a variety of learning needs are encon-passed encon-passed in the regular classroom class-room setting. Teachers and aides from the various school districts spend part of their day in the classroom with a permanent teacher and an aide, and student teacher and part of the day in seminars, lectures and drawing from other resource centers on the USU campus. Seminars are conducted by faculty members from special spec-ial and elementary education speech pathology audiology and psychology. The district teachers are Dean S. Aldous, Tooele; Dwain Barker, Moab; Denise Christensen, Logan; Mark Daines, Hyde Park; Beryl Halverson, Kanesvile; Ronald Johnson, Grantsviile; Sherid Peterson, Providence; and Joanne Porter, Morgan. The aides participating in the special training are Ele-ase Ele-ase Balls, Wellsville; Dorothea Doro-thea Brown, Hyrum; Dora Meza and Antonia R. Tresed-er, Tresed-er, Ogden; Karma Nelson, Grantsvile; Venna Norm s and Carol Sawyer, Logan; and Jolene Winters, oMab. "I felt I was getting innovation in-novation and up-to-date training train-ing necessary ta keep up with the times and give my students stu-dents the type of education they needed," commented one of the visiting educatorst a veteran in the classroom. The desire to serve their schools and students better played a part in bringing each teacher and aide to the Logan project. An aide stated that without with-out the training her duties would be clerical in nature, and would give her no opportunity oppor-tunity to work with the children. child-ren. She would be Limited to determining lunch counts, grading tests and preparing the room for each day's activities ac-tivities . Now, when she returns to the classroom, she will help , students with reading and math and help children with individual work projects. One stipulation of the federal fed-eral grant is that the teachers teach-ers and aides be committed to return to their school district dis-trict after completion of the 18-week practicum. They will disseminate the training they have received to the teachers and aides throughout their district, thus expanding the effect the USU laboratory school project has on the welfare wel-fare of the children of the state. The trainees are given a living stipend during their stay in Logan. Parents of elementary age children and other members of the community are not left out of the plans for a more meaningful education Par ents of every primary grade youngsters in Cache Valley was sent a letter this fall inviting in-viting them to join a Child Study Group. " Using the text, "Children the Challenge," by Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs, the counseling and psychology consultant to Bowen Bo-wen School are helping parents par-ents learn better way of re-lating re-lating to their children. The total program outlined by Bowen School is involved' in improving the quality of a child's education ' by allowing him to make some of the decisions de-cisions concerning his individual indi-vidual education, and helping parents .; understand' their children. |