HASS · Year 10

Active learning ideas

Global Health Governance and WHO

Active learning works for this topic because global health governance involves complex decision-making, negotiation, and real-world consequences that students must experience to grasp fully. Role-play, debate, and collaborative analysis mirror the diplomatic and technical processes the WHO uses daily, making abstract concepts tangible through peer interaction and structured inquiry.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9G10K02

• 40–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 50 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: WHO Emergency Committee

Assign roles like epidemiologists, diplomats, and funders to small groups facing a fictional outbreak. Groups deliberate response strategies for 20 minutes, then present and vote class-wide. Debrief on real WHO decision processes.

Analyze the challenges faced by the WHO in coordinating global health responses.

Facilitation Tip

In the WHO Emergency Committee simulation, assign roles with clear mandates and resource constraints to make sovereignty debates feel real for students.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a delegate at a WHO assembly discussing a new pandemic preparedness treaty. What are the top three challenges you anticipate in getting all member states to agree and comply?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to reference specific challenges like funding, national sovereignty, and political will.

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

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 60 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Global Outbreak Case Studies

Divide class into expert groups on outbreaks like COVID-19, Ebola, and Zika; each researches WHO actions using provided sources. Experts then teach their case to new home groups, who compare effectiveness.

Explain the concept of 'health diplomacy' in international relations.

Facilitation Tip

During the Jigsaw on Global Outbreak Case Studies, provide each expert group with a graphic organizer to track WHO actions and health diplomacy examples for clear reporting.

What to look for

Provide students with a short case study of a recent global health event (e.g., a specific disease outbreak). Ask them to write down: 1. One action taken by the WHO. 2. One example of health diplomacy observed. 3. One potential obstacle to effective global coordination in this scenario.

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

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Pairs

Formal Debate: Health Diplomacy Priorities

Pairs prepare arguments for or against statements like 'WHO funding should prioritize prevention over response.' Hold structured debates with rotation for rebuttals, followed by whole-class synthesis.

Evaluate the effectiveness of global health initiatives in preventing disease outbreaks.

Facilitation Tip

In the Health Diplomacy Debate, require students to cite specific International Health Regulations articles or WHO declarations in their arguments to ground claims in policy.

What to look for

On an index card, have students define 'health diplomacy' in their own words and then list one real-world example of how it has been used, citing a specific country or international event.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Concept Mapping
• 40 min · Pairs

Concept Mapping: Global Health Networks

In pairs, students create concept maps linking WHO to UN agencies, governments, and NGOs. Add annotations on diplomacy examples, then gallery walk to identify patterns.

Analyze the challenges faced by the WHO in coordinating global health responses.

Facilitation Tip

For the Mapping Global Health Networks activity, give students a blank world map and colored pencils to physically connect nodes, reinforcing spatial understanding of health governance.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a delegate at a WHO assembly discussing a new pandemic preparedness treaty. What are the top three challenges you anticipate in getting all member states to agree and comply?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to reference specific challenges like funding, national sovereignty, and political will.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by balancing simulation with critical analysis, avoiding oversimplified narratives about WHO effectiveness. Research shows that students grasp sovereignty complexities better when they experience the tension between global recommendations and national decisions firsthand. Use structured debriefs after simulations to connect role-play emotions to real-world outcomes, helping students see how diplomacy shapes health policy.

Successful learning looks like students actively applying WHO processes to case studies, negotiating policy positions in simulations, and critically evaluating health diplomacy trade-offs. They should articulate the limits of WHO authority, recognize global interdependence in health, and assess initiative effectiveness with evidence from multiple sources.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the WHO Emergency Committee simulation, watch for students assuming the WHO can enforce policies on all countries.

  Use the simulation’s rulebook to guide students to draft resolutions that rely on voluntary compliance, then debrief how this reflects WHO’s actual authority and member state sovereignty.

• During the Jigsaw on Global Outbreak Case Studies, watch for students attributing health challenges only to developing nations.

  In expert groups, require students to list both affected and unaffected regions for each case and discuss how pandemics disrupt global supply chains, highlighting universal risks.

• During the Health Diplomacy Debate, watch for students dismissing WHO initiatives as always failing due to bureaucracy.

  Have students prepare counterarguments using evidence from initiatives like smallpox eradication, then revise their claims based on peer feedback during the debate.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Jigsaw
• Formal Debate
• Concept Mapping