<![CDATA[Short story writing instruction still faces difficulties in generating initial ideas, developing plots, and starting stories, as learning tends to emphasize final products and theoretical understanding. Studies on Story Cube have mostly focused on procedures and effectiveness at the primary and Islamic junior high school levels, while its philosophical foundation has received little attention. This article aims to formulate a conceptual design of a short story writing learning model based on Story Cube through Project-Based Learning (PjBL) and to analyze its foundation in John Dewey’s pragmatism. The study employs a qualitative approach with a philosophical library research design. Primary sources are Dewey’s works, while secondary sources are literature on pragmatism in education, the creative process, short story writing instruction, and Story Cube and PjBL. Data were analyzed through content analysis and hermeneutic interpretation. The study yields a six-stage model design: experience trigger, project planning, drafting, peer editing, publication, and reflection. Dewey’s foundation appears in four aspects: Story Cube as a trigger of concrete experience, short story writing as reconstruction of experience and aesthetic expression, PjBL as a vehicle for learning by doing and social interaction, and reflection as inquiry that maintains the continuity of experience. Conceptually, the random stimulus of Story Cube becomes educative only when it is connected to students’ personal experience and guided from play toward purposeful creative work. The design has not been validated by experts or tested empirically; validation may be pursued through development.]]>
