USING JOURNALS IN THE SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGY CLASS - HELPING STUDENTS APPLY COURSE CONCEPTS TO LIFE EXPERIENCES

The personal journal is an effective pedagogical tool for motivating s tudents to apply course concepts to life experience. As students submi t journal entries and the instructor responds to them, an interpersona l exchange or ''journal dialogue'' occurs, reducing the role distance between instructor and student. This article discusses the use of pers onal journals in the social psychology course, the benefits of this te aching technique, the specific challenges confronted by the students a nd the instructor, and ethical considerations. Survey questionnaires o n the journal assignments were administerd to two social psychology cl asses. The results showed that students viewed the journals as a vital part of the course. The journals helped them to apply course material to everyday life, facilitated self-discovery created a bond between s tudent and instructor, and made the course material more personally me aningful.