Well, i dont know how this is gonna sound... but i have been both a student and a teacher - and i totally agree with the idea of just attending the class and working on your own later if that is how you learn and/or feel more comfortable 😊
When my experience consisted of being a student i could be pretty frustrated. I am the type who “enjoys the process” so i can be slower cuz thats how i enjoy things. But... many times after the first couple hours of an all day class i found myself behind - no matter how many of my friends tried to “help me under the table”! I’m serious this happened often in my quilting class journey. Then (in the mid 90’s) it seemed to be pretty much considered rude to kinda sit back at a certain point and just watch and absorb. Im thinking maybe some of the teachers took it kinda personally, but i made sure to clue them in that this was part of how i learned certain things. Most teachers accepted that, maybe a few didnt but i think somehow we all survived! My friends accepted that i learned on my own terms and we kidded around about it.
When i became a teacher years later i made sure to apply the lessons i learned and how i learned them as a student. I always had a class outline and expectations were clear - have a sewing machine in good working order and be familiar with it (bring your manual too). Sometimes prep cutting fabric was needed - sometimes not. I felt it was my job to help each student “where they were” so i purposely kept my classes to 6 students. I could usually size up skill levels and comfort zones in the first hour and proceeded as necessary. You can usually tell if someone is uncomfortable in a group learning situation. I always made it clear that any student was welcome to choose to observe at any point - or during the entire class - that it wouldnt hurt my feelings at all. I still took the class through the entire process so that nobody missed anything. I also made myself available by phone or would meet any student at the shop to help if they were “stuck”. I had to choke back tears sometimes because some of the students were so appreciative of how we handled things. I had many repeat students over the years and was so blessed to see their progress - many became friends. What more could a person ask for?
So... bottomline - you should proceed with a class as you feel comfortable. Machine or no machine, etc. And nobody should have a problem with that - especially not a teacher! You paid for the class, so you should feel free to participate however it best works for you!