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Abstract
In this article, I introduce a life-story narrative project, called the Life Analysis , that I used in teaching an introductory course in life-span developmental psychology. In assigning the Life Analysis project, I ask each student to analyze his or her life in theoretical terms over both its historical and hypothetical span. As predicted, objective test results show that students who completed the Life Analysis demonstrated greater mastery, critical analysis, and application of important developmental theories and concepts than did students who did not complete this assignment. Narrative excerpts from selected life analyses provide additional evidence that lifestory narration leads to higher-level learning outcomes. In using an anonymous questionnaire and anecdotal reports to assess the attitudes of students completing the Life Analysis, I found that attitudes expressed were largely favorable toward the assignment as an effective learning tool and as a useful means by which students can undertake introspective analysis of their own development. Overall, the findings indicate that narrative methodology compares favorably to traditional didactics. The benefits of learning through life-story narration relate to each student's subjective capacity to connect and construct ideas, concepts, and experiences into personally meaningful relationships.
