About the Author

Professional Journey

Muchsonah began her teaching career in secondary education, where she spent 19 years nurturing young minds and developing her pedagogical philosophy. During this time, she witnessed firsthand the transformative power of student-centered learning and the importance of creating spaces where curiosity could flourish.

In 2006, Muchsonah transitioned to higher education at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), one of Indonesia's premier technical universities. This move presented new challenges and opportunities—teaching engineering and science students critical reading required a reimagining of traditional approaches. It was here that she fully embraced Project-Based Learning as a vehicle for deep, meaningful engagement with academic content.

Philosophy of Teaching

Muchsonah's teaching philosophy is rooted in three core principles:

• Student Agency: Learners must have ownership of their educational journey, making meaningful choices about what and how they learn.
• Collaborative Construction: Knowledge is built together, through dialogue, peer review, and collective problem-solving.
• Real-World Relevance: Academic work should connect to authentic problems and prepare students to be thoughtful, engaged citizens.

Personal Connection

Beyond her professional identity, Muchsonah is a mother and grandmother, roles that deeply inform her approach to education. She understands that learning is not just an individual pursuit but a communal one, embedded in relationships and cultural values.

Muchsonah is committed to preserving and cultivating Indonesian values such as guyub (togetherness) and gotong royong (cooperation)—principles that align beautifully with Project-Based Learning's emphasis on collaboration and community. Her work demonstrates that global pedagogical innovation can be grounded in local cultural wisdom.

Research & Publications

Living Project-Based Learning: An Autoethnographic Exploration represents years of reflective practice and systematic inquiry into what makes learning transformative. Through autoethnography, Muchsonah offers both scholarly rigor and deeply personal insight.

Her work contributes to ongoing conversations about:

• Constructivist and constructionist pedagogies in higher education
• The role of critical reading in STEM disciplines
• Autoethnography as a method for educational research
• Culturally responsive teaching in Indonesian contexts