HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

VCE HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Health and Human Development is a very popular VCE subject where students learn about how humans grow and develop across the lifespan. In the second semester, Year 11 Health and Human Development students learned about the transition from youth to adulthood through a range of hands-on experiences. Their visit to a childcare centre, along with a session with a mum and her baby and a talk from local midwives, helped them see what growing independence, relationships and potential parenthood can look like in real life. These activities gave students a clearer understanding of the changes adults face and supported them in building their health literacy skills.

To start the unit, students learned about prenatal development and made playdough models of the stages of foetal growth.

We had local community members and midwives Carly Boulter and Louise Cruickshank visit our class to talk about pregnancy and labour. They brought a range of lifelike props, and some students even took part in a practical demonstration on how to support a baby as it moves through the birth canal.

A local mum and her baby visited our class so students could learn first-hand about the social and emotional supports that help new parents. They also had the chance to observe baby Aaylah as she explored new toys and curiously watched the “big kids” around her. The students said they were surprised by how calm mum and baby were and liked how Aaylah would move to interact with the students who made funny faces and tried to play with her.

Our final adventure was walking down to Karmai Community Children’s Centre to observe and interact with the children. We split into two groups and spent time in the 2–3-year-old room and the 4-year-old room. Our students sat at their tiny tables and chatted while the children ate their lunch. The KSC students reported being amazed at how polite and civilised the children were. Afterwards, the children showed the KSC students their favourite activities, including riding the trikes, climbing on the play equipment, building with blocks and playing with dolls.

It was a true delight to teach this group of students, and I hope they continue to build on their wonderful learning and interest in the area of health, nursing, midwifery and child development.

Ms Jane Strickland