Historicalstudy, in sum, is crucial to the promotion of that elusivecreature,the well-informed citizen. It provides basic factualinformation about the background of our political institutions andabout the values and problems that affect our social well-being. Italso contributes to our capacityto use evidence, assessinterpretations, and analyze change and continuities. No one canever quite deal with the present as the historian deals with thepast—we lack the perspective for this feat; but we can move in thisdirection byapplyinghistorical habits of mind, and we will functionas better citizens in the process.6

concrete thinkers gain the cognitive skills necessary to effectively solve the problem.”Lou concurred: “PBL allows you to take standards to the next level. Their essay writing improves.They get it! My students had never been in a PBL environment before. It was cool to see kids who normally were not engaged become interested and involved.”Kathy observed a marked change in student discussion skills: “Students are ready to voice their opinions. . . . It’s neat to see them listen to each other’s opinions and open up their minds to consider them.”As these comments indicate, our PSTs perceived PBL lessons as potentially transformative, in terms of both the learning environment and the relationship between students and teacher. This transformative potential was starkest in the case of Frank, who described PBL as a “game changer”:Personal relationships changed. They saw me in a different light after PBL. PBL laid the foundation for their thinking differently and their thinking about me differently. It opened up conversations that hadn’t happened before. Before, I thought I was trapped in a box fitting this certain thing that is a teacher. With PBL, I have this knowledge and the ability to do things better than I’m told they have to be done.Other PSTs agreed. “Students were able to take a social studies problem,” Gary explained, “and get directly involved with the content through their own decision-making and observations rather than rote memorization.” Jane claimed that she “became a facilitator in the learning process.” Bob, despite the fact that his PBL lesson went poorly, acknowledged “students cared about the activity overall and liked to consider competing perspectives.”