Civics & Citizenship · Year 9

Active learning ideas

Global Health Challenges

Active learning helps students grasp the complexity of global health by moving beyond textbooks to solve real-world problems. Working with simulations, maps, and debates lets them see how organizations collaborate, where inequalities persist, and why local crises have global consequences.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9C9K03

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: WHO vs NGOs

Assign expert groups to research one organization's role in a crisis like Ebola. Experts then teach their home groups, who compare strengths and gaps. Groups report predictions on equitable access challenges.

Analyze the interconnectedness of global health issues and their impact on nations.

Facilitation Tip

For the Jigsaw Research, assign each expert group a clear role (e.g., WHO policy team, NGO logistics team) to emphasize division of responsibilities.

What to look for

Pose this question to small groups: 'Imagine a new infectious disease emerges in Southeast Asia. How might the WHO and an NGO like the Red Cross respond differently? What challenges would each face in providing aid to affected communities?' Have groups share their key points.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Pairs

Simulation Game: Global Aid Allocation

Provide scenarios with limited resources for health crises in multiple countries. In pairs, students prioritize aid based on WHO guidelines and NGO reports, then debrief as a class on equity trade-offs.

Differentiate between the roles of the WHO and NGOs in global health initiatives.

Facilitation Tip

During the Simulation, provide a limited budget and conflicting priorities to push students to negotiate trade-offs in aid allocation.

What to look for

Provide students with a short case study (e.g., a simulated vaccine shortage in a low-income country). Ask them to write two sentences identifying one role the WHO would play and one role an NGO could play to address the situation.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Expert Panel
• 40 min · Small Groups

Map Analysis: Health Inequalities

Students plot global data on life expectancy and vaccine access on world maps. In small groups, they identify patterns linking poverty, geography, and governance, then propose Australian contributions.

Predict the challenges of achieving equitable access to healthcare worldwide.

Facilitation Tip

In the Map Analysis, have students highlight three countries with extreme disparities and prepare a short explanation of why those gaps exist.

What to look for

On an exit ticket, ask students to list two specific barriers that prevent equitable access to healthcare in a developing nation. Then, ask them to explain in one sentence how international cooperation could help overcome one of those barriers.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Expert Panel
• 35 min · Pairs

Debate Carousel: Equity Barriers

Pairs prepare arguments for or against statements on challenges like 'Patents block access.' Rotate to debate new pairs, refining positions with evidence from international reports.

Analyze the interconnectedness of global health issues and their impact on nations.

Facilitation Tip

For the Debate Carousel, rotate groups every five minutes so students hear multiple perspectives before forming their own arguments.

What to look for

Pose this question to small groups: 'Imagine a new infectious disease emerges in Southeast Asia. How might the WHO and an NGO like the Red Cross respond differently? What challenges would each face in providing aid to affected communities?' Have groups share their key points.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should avoid presenting global health as a distant problem solved by distant organizations. Instead, connect it to students’ lives through local examples, like travel advisories or refugee health screenings. Research shows role-play and structured debates improve perspective-taking, while mapping activities build spatial reasoning skills. Keep discussions grounded in specific cases rather than abstract policies.

Students will explain the distinct but interdependent roles of the WHO and NGOs, analyze health inequality data on maps, and articulate barriers to equity through structured discussions. They should connect these ideas to broader concepts like interdependence and justice.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Jigsaw Research: Watch for students who assume the WHO handles all logistics and delivery without mentioning NGOs.

  Prompt each group to identify one task the WHO coordinates and one task an NGO executes in their case study, then have groups share these in a whole-class table to highlight interdependence.

• During Map Analysis: Watch for students who attribute health inequalities solely to economic factors like poverty.

  Provide a data set that includes trade policies and patent laws, and ask students to revise their captions to explain how systems shape health outcomes alongside income levels.

• During Simulation: Watch for students who assume global health crises do not affect Australia.

  Assign a role to a student representing Australia’s Department of Health and require them to present trade or travel impacts during the debrief, using real data like mpox alerts.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Simulation Game
• Expert Panel