Perhaps one of the reasons this course is often challenging is because of its formal and abstract nature. While some people are quite adept at thinking abstractly, many are helped by also thinking visually or geometrically. Additionally, the nature of the Mathematica notebooks encourages an exploratory environment in which one can make and test conjectures. Viewing the notebooks as interactive texts allows an environment that can not be replicated by lecture alone. Every lab starts with a set of goals as well as prerequisites, listing both mathematical assumptions as well as any assumptions about having used previous labs.
Most labs are independent, though a few assume some experience with a previous lab.
Questions are interspersed through the lab at the points where it is natural to ask. While the length of the labs vary from 40 minutes to 90 minutes in length, they typically require about 60 minutes. For adopters of the book, there are provisions for suggested minimal questions to be included, as well as which ones could be considered optional. Additionally, notebooks containing just the questions are available, as are partial solutions upon request by an instructor. Finally, a number of palettes for 3.x users are available to facilitate the use of the labs and the implementation of the packages.