Mazur also noted that current tests, in an attempt to make objective questions, have stripped away questions that require students to make or form their own assumptions. Mazur gave the example of determining when a space in a full parking lot would open up as an instance in which an individual would need to assume how long individuals park.

However, Mazur said, “the ability to make correct assumptions is one of the most useful skills no matter the job our students are going to take.”

Audience members said that they found the lecture educational.

“People should start trying [these collaborative approaches] more in other classes,” said Madhavi V.S.V. Duvvuri ’14, who took Mazur’s Applied Physics 50 class last year and is currently one of his teaching fellows.

“Learning to communicate science to other people is an invaluable skill—you don’t see a lot of people being trained to do that in other classes,” he said.

Leigh A. Needleman, a Harvard lab manager, said that after listening to Mazur she was interested in including more student-driven grading in the lab she teaches.

Katy A. Muth, a local high school teacher, said that the lessons applied to her as well. She planned on encouraging students to work through AP Calculus problems collaboratively, rather than simply handing them separate questions.