How to facilitate students’ metacognitive understanding of the effects of alcohol and drug abuse on prenatal development.

There is limited research assessing the use of the Foetal Alcohol and Drug Affected virtual-baby dolls (FAS/DAS) in education programmes. This research aimed to address this gap by using the simulator dolls with undergraduates and Year 12 and 13 students to educate them about the teratogenic effects of drugs and alcohol on prenatal development. Students were additionally tasked to think creatively about how the dolls could be used to educate others. It was predicted that through hands-on learning with the virtual-baby dolls and higher-order creative thinking, students would develop their metacognitive understanding of the potential risks to the foetus.