Scholars at our Santa Ana campus are participating in Project-Based Learning (PBL) through collaboration, a key step in the process of learning through PBL.  According to more than 40 studies of elementary, middle, and high school English classrooms, discussion-based practices improve comprehension of the text and critical-thinking skills for students across ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic contexts (Murphy, Wilkinson, Soter, Hennessey, & Alexander, 2009; Applebee, Langer, Nystrand, Gamoran, 2003).