What is 1/2 AND 3/4 HHD like?

[Snow Leopard]

Hey,
I was wondering what 1/2 and 3/4 HHD is like.
- What do you need to do in order to do well in SACs?
- What are SACs like in terms of structure?
- How much work do you need to put in to get good results in it? (How much work would you need to do to get a 45+ score raw)?

I'd really appreciate people's opinions and thoughts! Thanks in advance

[lm21074]

Hey Snow Leopard!

I completed 1/2 HHD and am doing 3/4 at the moment, so I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can

What is HHD about? To put it simply, in 1/2, there is a focus on the health and wellbeing of population groups in Australia, particularly Australian youth, a bit of nutrition, as well as human development, in the context of how a person's life starts at conception and goes all the way until late adulthood. In 3/4, there's still some of that health and wellbeing stuff, nutrition, models of health, how health has changed over time and health in population groups, as well as global health - looking at health around the world and how different factors influence it. I just said the word health a lot there. Haven't started Unit 4 yet, so can't exactly give a great description! You may to wish to look at these helpful HHD resources written by some ANers who are passionate about HHD and scored highly for more information about the subject and consult the study design.


What do you need to do in order to do well in SACs?
This is really general advice, but overall, you need to stay on top of the work and be consistent with revision. HHD is a content heavy subject (maybe not as content heavy as bio and psych) so adequate time to revise is very important IMO. There are some parts of the course that are applied to each unit - for instance, you will have to link different concepts to the dimensions of health and wellbeing and health status indicators, so it's important to know these very well. There are some things you might need to know almost word for word (think definitions) and some that you don't need to memorise, but have a solid understanding of to write about in extended response questions. The subject has  questions that come up in exams in similar forms, such as how a concept promotes health outcomes. Alike every subject, passion or at least a little bit of enjoyment for HHD can motivate you to do well in SACs.

What are SACs like in terms of structure?
All questions are short answer. Be prepared for a lot of writing! There are some questions that are worth two marks (for example, "identify" questions) all the way to extended response questions (so you're looking at 8-10 mark questions). VCAA have moved towards including a lot more higher order thinking questions into HHD exams, so you'll see fewer of those "identify" questions and more "analyse" or "evaluate" or "explain" types of questions pop up.

How much work do you need to put in to get good results in it? (How much work would you need to do to get a 45+ score raw)?
I don't think I'm too qualified to answer this one, but the amount of work to put in for a certain score is quite a tricky thing to answer. There are so many factors that influence study scores anyway, and the results you get can be influenced by your personal strengths and weaknesses. Some people treat HHD as a bludge subject, and experience different outcomes. To do less work in this subject and maximise your results, I guess finding study strategies that work for you can save you time. There's a general consensus that HHD is an "easy" subject, but if you want to do well, you have to put in some effort and solid work.

Hope this helps you out a bit (and hope you pick HHD - one of the best subjects VCE has to offer )

[The Cat In The Hat]

Bug raw-50 hon-mod heids to tell you. She loves the subject.

[Snow Leopard]

//

Thank you so much for the detailed response Im21074
Not sure about your HHD classes at school but do you have any kids that are the noisy/popular/annoying kind and how did you deal with that in order to still do well?

[lm21074]

Thank you so much for the detailed response Im21074
Not sure about your HHD classes at school but do you have any kids that are the noisy/popular/annoying kind and how did you deal with that in order to still do well?

No worries!

Am I right in assuming that you are referring to distracting class members?

Personally, I'd say quite a few of my class members were talkative during class (and maybe popular too, but popularity is quite a relative thing). I heard some interesting conversations around formal time about formal wear and eyelash glue (definitely got to do with HHD haha). Sometimes there was misbehaviour and arguments that went on between students and the teacher, which did take away from class time (although not too significantly). When this happened, I just did my work most of the time. Took notes in class if I hadn't done so beforehand, and did textbook questions / worksheets that the teacher assigned. I say most of the time, because it was hard to not pay attention to some things that happened. I don't think I would have felt part of that class if I just did work and ignored what was happening around me though (if that makes sense). In general, I found that it was helpful having a class without any close friends as I wasn't talking as often.

A little tangent about classroom dynamics

There were a few key differences between my HHD class last year and my HHD class this year. One of them was that from the very beginning of last year, the teacher let us sit wherever we want, which left us Year 10s physically segregated from the rest of the class. This year, we started off with table groups and slowly moved towards sitting with whoever we wanted. We often do activities that involve group discussions and are partnered with different people that we don't usually talk to so we get to know them a bit better. Maybe your teacher next year could implement something like this too? You can help each other out to do the best you can in the subject collectively as a school. Collaboration is power

It might be best to get on with your work but be polite and civil towards people who are of the kind you mentioned, of course. Perhaps, if you find that these people are impacting on your learning, you could raise your concerns with your teacher or a trusted adult. At the end of the day, it's your education that matters.


Not sure how well this answers your question, but I hope this helps