Project-based learning is how we teach critical thinking
Knowledge in Action (KIA), an approach to project-based learning (PBL) pioneered at the UW ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ by professors emeriti Walter Parker, Sheila Valencia, Susan Nolen and John Bransford, continues to inspire and informed a recent study referenced in an Education Lab op-ed published earlier by The Seattle Times. The op-ed highlights how project-based learning teaches critical thinking, one of the most important skills for students to develop and that is correlated with academic success and increases in empathy. Rather than approaching learning through memorization and top-down deployment of instructions, rigorous PBLs like KIA encourage students to learn through experimentation and observation.