Most undergraduate courses are rather impersonal. The instructor gives lectures, the students take notes, and only occasionally ask questions. It is quite possible for the instructor never to learn the names of a majority of the students. Since this course traditionally attracts a smaller number of students, it is ideal for a format in which there is more give and take during the lectures and through seminars. This is the reason for setting up the classroom so that everyone can sit around the table.
Most undergraduate courses proceed largely as a mathematical deduction from a few principles.
The experimental nature of physics gets lost in the rush to present the theory. These seminars will emphasize not only the significance of the results, but the methods by which the experiments were done, and the experimental problems encountered and overcome by the experimenters. Lately, the enrollment has been closer to 20, and I have had the additional students write a paper in lieu of giving a seminar. That has worked well, and we will do this if the enrollment exceeds twelve. The main tools we need are those of quantum mechanics and special relativity.