deletions | additions       diff --git a/Lab assignments.tex b/Lab assignments.tex  index ce3f58d..70b7e34 100644  --- a/Lab assignments.tex  +++ b/Lab assignments.tex 
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After completing the in-class exercise, students use the rest of the lab period to work on their lab assignment, with the assistance of their group members and circulating instructors. Students are not expected to complete their labs during the lab period, since they have the necessary software installed on their own laptops to complete the labs at home or in group study sessions. Students usually have one week to complete the lab, and they submit their work via a dropbox on \href{https://d2l.msu.edu/}{D2L}. Written lab reports provide opportunities for students to practice scientific writing and hone their skill at communicating complex ideas.  The lab assignments in AST~208 have been completely rewritten over the past two years, and development is ongoing. The lab now seeks to communicate learning goals through authentic research experiences, using the tools astronomers regularly use (e.g., Python, DS9, observatory archives). A central goal of the lab is to foster in our students a sense of independence, in both defining and tackling problems. Rather than handing out being  clearly spelled-out instructions, recipes,  labs are often open-ended and loosely defined, and the instructors frequently direct students to use online resources to search for answers. Another goal of the lab is to communicate what astronomy is like as a career, and how the science of astronomy is accomplished. We integrate discussion of current research questions and the day-to-day tasks astronomers undertake into the lab activities, and devote a lab session to a Q\&A about graduate school and STEM careers. Here are some examples of current AST 208 labs (see also Fig.\ \ref{fig:hst}).