HASS · Year 10

Active learning ideas

Multinational Corporations and Global Power

Active learning works for this topic because students need to experience the tensions between global cooperation and national sovereignty firsthand. Handling real-world data and role-playing international negotiations helps them grasp how global power structures function in practice rather than in abstraction.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9G10K04

• 45–90 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 90 min · Small Groups

Role Play: Global Trade Summit

Students represent different countries, MNCs, and NGOs at a simulated trade summit. They must negotiate terms for a new international trade agreement, considering economic, labor, and environmental impacts.

Analyze how multinational corporations exert influence over national governments.

Facilitation Tip

During the WHO Emergency Committee simulation, assign roles with clear mandates (e.g., epidemiologist, finance minister, public health advocate) to push students beyond generic responses.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Case Study Analysis
• 60 min · Small Groups

Case Study Analysis: MNC Impact

Groups analyze a specific MNC's operations in a developing country, researching its economic contributions, labor practices, and environmental record. They then present their findings and recommendations.

Explain the ethical dilemmas associated with globalized labor practices.

Facilitation Tip

For the Vaccine Gap investigation, provide raw datasets from GAVI and UNICEF so students must clean and interpret gaps in vaccine distribution without pre-filtered conclusions.

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

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Whole Class

Formal Debate: Corporate Responsibility

Organize a formal debate on the proposition: 'Multinational corporations have a greater responsibility to their shareholders than to the host countries in which they operate.'

Evaluate the impact of corporate lobbying on international trade agreements.

Facilitation Tip

In the Think-Pair-Share on connectivity, give students two minutes to note examples before pairing, then limit pairs to three minutes of discussion to force concise articulation of ideas.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should frame this topic as a series of trade-offs between global health needs and national interests. Avoid presenting the WHO as a monolithic authority; instead, emphasize its dependence on member state compliance. Research shows students grasp international institutions better when they see how power vacuums create both innovation and chaos during crises.

Successful learning looks like students distinguishing between WHO’s advisory role and enforceable authority, analyzing how pandemics disrupt economies and societies, and evaluating the ethical responsibilities of multinational corporations in global health crises.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Collaborative Investigation: The Vaccine Gap, watch for students equating pandemic impact solely with health outcomes. Correction: Require students to include at least one economic metric (e.g., GDP loss, supply chain disruption) and one social metric (e.g., school closures, gender disparities) in their gap analysis.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Case Study Analysis
• Formal Debate