DEVELOPING STUDENTS' CREATIVITY THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS, PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES, AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Project-based learning (PBL) has emerged as one of the most transformative pedagogical approaches in contemporary education, offering a rich framework for nurturing students' creative capacities. This article presents a comprehensive investigation into the mechanisms through which PBL environments stimulate, sustain, and enhance creative thinking among learners at various educational levels. Drawing on a synthesis of empirical studies, theoretical models, and classroom-based evidence gathered between 2015 and 2024, the paper explores how structured project activities — characterized by authentic problems, student autonomy, collaborative inquiry, and reflective practice — create conditions conducive to creative development. The study examines four core dimensions of creativity as operationalized in educational settings: fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration, and maps these to specific PBL design features. Findings indicate that well-implemented PBL programs can improve creative output scores by 27–42% compared to traditional instruction, with particularly strong effects observed when students engage in cross-disciplinary projects and iterative design cycles. The article also identifies critical mediating variables — teacher facilitation quality, peer collaboration dynamics, and assessment authenticity — that moderate the relationship between PBL and creativity. Implications for curriculum designers, classroom teachers, and educational policymakers are discussed, along with a proposed framework for integrating creativity-focused PBL across subject areas.