For better or worse, your evaluation in this course will be primarily based on your ability to synthesize the material and apply it to problems on examinations and in homework. It is almost impossible, even for the future Albert Einsteins among you, to do this well without practice, practice and more practice. Workshops provide a way to work in small groups with your peers in a forum where you can get instant feedback and help from your workshop leader (a teaching assistant or teaching intern for the course).
At each two hour weekly workshop session, you will be presented with a number of conceptual and traditional problems, similar to what you might expect to face on an exam. You and your fellow students in the workshop will have a chance to work through these problems and identify any misunderstanding or confusion that might impede you in solving the problems. I strongly encourage you to take these sessions seriously, and to prepare in advance by reviewing the material and the problems. Workshops will cover material through the Wednesday lecture of the week of the workshop.