Learning better from others: Life-review interview
Life-review interview is a process of reviewing, organizing, and evaluating the overall picture of one's life to achieve integrity by seeing one's own life as a unique story (Woods et al., 1992). It adopts structured or semi-structured interview to guide a person to recall, reflect on, and synthesize one’s life journey (Haight, 1988).
Conducting life-review interviews could help university students draw from the rich life stories of senior citizens and contextualize their understanding of life-span development theories and concepts.
During the life-review process, students also have the opportunity to practice a variety of generic skills such as problem-solving, communication, social interaction, and ethical decision-making.
The life-review interview is a very comprehensive task. The procedures include:
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Formulate a plan
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Implement a solution
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Monitor the process
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Communicate with the interviewee
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Express ethical consideration, seek consent, and respect the interviewee’s rights, and
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Apply life-span development theories for analyses
This website is designed with both course instructors and students enrolled in education and psychology related courses in mind. For students, we hope the information provided here to could help you conduct an effective life-review interview and creatively present the interviewee’s life story. In the process, we hope to enhance students’ understanding of course-specific contents, and foster students’ generic skills including
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Problem-solving skills
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Critical thinking skills
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Creative thinking skills
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Oral and writing communication skills
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Social interaction skills
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Ethical decision making
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Global perspectives.
Course instructors who are interested in integrating a life-review interview in your course can download the E-Learning package we developed for free. In this E-learning package we provide you with the resources to utilize the life-review interview in your courses.
About the researchers
Dr. Wang Zhenlin
Dr. Wang is interested in children’s developing theory of mind and its implication in early childhood education.
Dr. Tianyuan Li
Dr. Li is interested in life-span development, interpersonal relationships and age differences in social and interpersonal contexts.
Dr. Tong Xiuhong
Dr. Tong is interested in language learning and reading development and difficulties with multiple approaches.