Presented is an assessment of the restructuring of a college freshman physics course. Details of the organization of the lab activities, grouping of the students, and strengths and weaknesses of the arrangements are discussed. (DS)

Describes an optional course in "computational physics" offered at the University of Birmingham. Includes an introduction to numerical methods and presents exercises involving fast-Fourier transforms, non-linear least-squares, Monte Carlo methods, and the three-body problem. Recommends adding laboratory work into the course in the…