We claim that short hands-on laboratories make text books obsolete for many purposes. This is particularly true for those topics which are largely implementation-dependent or "how to" topics, or deal with purely representational aspects of material. This material is better presented in small interactive modules, which we call gateway labs. The name gateway was used in part because these labs share some of the properties of both open and closed labs: they are open because the student works independently, but the tasks comprise closed- end introductions, which can be much shorter than either of the two more common formats, open or closed labs. We claim students should receive the bulk of their "how to" instruction through direct hands-on interaction with gateway labs. The lectures, the text, and the traditional labs can, thus, be devoted to the more intellectual aspects of the course, such as problem solving. We believe gateways should be implemented as a coordinated set of as the principal means of instruction in the use of specific software tools. Gateway labs will be assigned regularly and frequently, just as most courses currently employ reading assignments. We expect roughly as many gateway labs as there are lectures. Thus, a full course will incorporate 30 to 40 specific modules. We presently incorporate several gateway labs in our primary course for non-majors, CSc 104: problem solving with computers, a problem-solving course, in which the actual use of computer tools is subordinate to the generalized problem-solving techniques. Although we focus on problem solving, students must still have experience in the use of specific tools. Such experience is best gained through laboratories, but we want to use our traditional-format labs for problem-solving experiences.
