An advanced laboratory course that emphasizes communication

I will introduce a fourth-year laboratory course that has a strong focus on communication skills. The course is meant to give students a preview of how experimental physics is performed in an academic or industrial research lab. The design is such that the course approximates the experience of a graduate student in a research group, which I regard as an ideal learning environment. I will contrast this with the learning experience in a typical first- or second-year lab. Results from a small survey are also presented.