USING MINIAUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATION IN APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY TO PERSONALIZE COURSE CONTENT AND IMPROVE CONCEPTUAL APPLICATION

­In the present investigation, I implemented a series of brief, written, autobiographical assignments, each associated with material from one of 12 different chapters covered throughout an introductory course in applied psychology. In completing each assignment, students described and applied psychological principles to their past and present life experiences. Students completing the autobiographical writing assignments demonstrated greater comprehension and application of course concepts than students exposed to traditional didactics alone. Students' anecdotal comments combined with narrative excerpts from selected assignments in offering additional evidence of the effectiveness of miniautobiographical narration as a constructivist pedagogical tool.