LITERATURE REVIEW: THE ROLE OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING (PjBL) IN IMPROVING CRITICAL THINKING IN SCIENCE LEARNING

Dwi Wahyu Utami (Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura)
Nur Afizah (Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura, 69162, Indonesia)
Fatimatul Hikmiah (Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura, 69162, Indonesia)
Andrea Putri Azahra (Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura, 69162, Indonesia)
Yamin Yamin (Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura, 69162, Indonesia)
Eva Ari Wahyuni (Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura, 69162, Indonesia)
M. Amien Rais (Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura, 69162, Indonesia)
Dwi Bagus Rendy Astid Putera (Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Trunodjoyo Madura, 69162, Indonesia)

Natural Science Education Research (NSER)
Vol 9, No 2 (2026): Natural Science Education Research

Critical thinking skills are an important competency required by students in the science learning process to face various challenges in everyday life. Project-Based Learning (PjBL) is considered an effective teaching approach in honing these skills. This study aimed to analyze how the implementation of the Project-Based Learning (PjBL) model contributes to the improvement of students' critical thinking skills in science education. The method applied was a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) by reviewing several national scientific articles published between 2023 and 2026. Data were collected through literature exploration in Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate using appropriate keywords. Analysis was conducted descriptively to assess the objectives, methods, and findings of research related to the implementation of PjBL. The study findings indicate that PjBL has a continuous positive impact on improving students' critical thinking skills. This model encourages students to actively engage in the process of developing solutions, research, decision-making, collaboration, and completing projects related to real-life situations. PjBL also contributes to improving students' learning performance, communication skills, and collaboration skills. Thus, PjBL can be used as an effective teaching model in developing critical thinking skills in science learning.