What do you think makes a class great?

Hey everyone,

I just finished my PhD far far away and got hired by UW. I've never been to Canada before, and I don't know exactly how the study environment is but I expect it to be very different than what I am used to. I will most likely teach a few STEM related courses during the Spring term, and would appreciate if you helped me sort out a few things:

In your opinion, what makes for an astonishingly great class? What teaching practices can ruin an otherwise good class? Between a class with interesting and practical, but demanding assignments and one which requires less work on a week-to-week basis but also does not give as much hands-on experience, which one do you prefer?

See you around!