Encourage students to discuss laboratory results with each other in class after the lab. Students learn how to learn and do mathematics on their own. Students learn to read laboratory instructions. Students learn to work with, teach, and learn from other students. Students learn to communicate mathematics aloud.
Students learn to communicate mathematics in writing.
They were fun. The labs were helpful for understanding more depth on a topic. The writing was easy. Finding the solutions was difficult. They were difficult, but they forced you to really understand.