Girl Scouts of Colorado
TRAINING SESSION DESIGN
Event: Required Session Older Girl 101 Training Page 21 of 21
Date: August 2013_____ Time: 3 Hours Pre-requisites: Nuts and Bolts and GS 101
LEARNING OUTCOMES (Participants will be able to)
Ø Apply the processes of Girl-led; Cooperative Learning, Learning by Doing and Progression to their Girl Scout Experience
Ø Identify characteristics of Older Girl Scouts – ranges, changes of development: expectations
Ø Use the National Program Portfolio (Journeys, Girls Guide), High Awards, and Take Action as a foundation for troop activities
Ø Value Girl Scout traditions, awards, and ceremonies
Ø Plan for a Girl Scout year incorporating important GS dates, girl voice and meeting structure
Ø View Volunteer Essentials, Safety Activity checkpoints, Service Unit volunteers and the web as resources to help them
TIME /TOPIC FLOW
/CONTENT
/ SUGGESTED METHOD / RESOURCES, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT /Registration
Housekeeping / Sign-in, name tags
Participants will be encouraged to arrive 10-15 minutes prior to training
Name tags, give handout packets, explain location of bathrooms, food/drinks available, smoking outside, cell phone use, and use of Burning Questions, and explain that they will be up and moving a lot, stash stuff under chairs or out of way / Set up room
Model giving them something to do / Sign-in Sheet, pens, name tags
Markers, chart paper, easel
Post – Burning ?s, What to expect
Junior level journey set, Girls Guides (2-4) “Bag of Tricks” materials (trainer choice) Safety Activity Checkpoints (4-6), Volunteer Essentials (4-6), Handouts packets, gold and Silver packets
SWAP materials- bedroll. Felt rectangles, yarn, safety pins
10 min / Introductions/ Icebreaker
What to expect / Introduce trainers giving relevant information.
Activity: Conduct Needs assessment.
Who has been a leader, Who was a Girl Scout, Who is brand new, Who has done a Journey/badge? etc. (Winnebago Game/4 Corners is possible method for this)
Explain that older girls can still be engaged by a game, especially if it helps break the ice or illuminates a concept. Try the Skittles ice breakers, or How to Make a Muffin game.
Briefly explain what to expect.
· Unique capabilities of each age
· How to lead a girl-led environment and apply the GSLE
· Journeys and the Girls Guide to Girl Scouting
· Additional awards and program for each age
· Traditions and Ceremonies
· Planning and Safety Resources to help you / Winnebago/4 corners / Chart paper with What to expect
15 min / Characteristics of Junior Girl Scouts
Inclusive Environment / Brainstorm the developmental characteristics of teens keeping in mind how this will influence how you will share leadership responsibilities with the girls.
Cookbook brainstorm
Split into small groups of 3-4 women (women (model cliqueproof method like self select groups and then they number off 1-4 and the numbers become their group)
Give them 2 min to brainstorm, then they leave their sheet, get up and rotate to the next location and fill in the blanks. Prompts: Like to do, behavior challenges, good at, trying to do
Girl Scouting commits to providing a safe and inclusive environment for girls.
· Girl Scouts creates a safe space for girls emotionally, physically and mentally
Practical application:
· Model how to make others feel welcome
· Supportive language used to describe differences
· accommodating differences
· accessibility concerns
· modeling listening and getting their voice heard
Benefits to girls:
· safe to share, learn, be themselves
· model inclusive behaviors for world outside of GS troop
· value and respect differences / Cookbook style brainstorm / Chart paper and markers in 3-4 places in room (tables, on wall)
Hand out
Teens: independent and taking on more responsibility and autonomy; ready to express and stand up for their opinion; self-conscious; social with friends more than family; consider values and justice/fairness; enjoy their independence
15 min / Group Agreement / Discuss:
-Concepts of group agreements (negotiated) versus ground rules (mandated)
-tie it back to the Promise and Law
-Benefits incl. shared accountability
-create a physical reminder (teens might want it to be digital)
-let it be a living document (revisit it when difficult situations arise)
PRACTICE GROUP AGREEMENT – participants get into role of teens in their troop. Then, role play how to guide with teens
- Teens should take full responsibility for this, with you there to advise when needed
-challenge girls with more complex situations. Ie Time wasting, participation, talking over one another, define respect
-what about technology?
“Group Agreement is a perfect storm of many core Girl Scout ideas: fostering an inclusive environment, girl-led activities, learning and participating cooperatively with others, progressing their skills, troop governance, promise and law.”
Activity: Have participants discuss/anticipate common troop conflicts/ disruptions and brainstorm ideas on how to resolve.
-Have leaders shout out examples of disruptions or conflict in their troop.
If time permits play or just describe games to help girls focus on importance of listening. For quicker version, do this “fishbowl” style with 2 participants playing and rest of group watching.
Activity: Girls/adults in pairs sit back to back. One has an object in hand and other has a blank sheet of paper. One person describes the shape out loud and the other, without looking, follows her directions and draws object. When done, compare. / Large Group Brainstorm
Large Group Brainstorm
Demo/explain listening game for girls / Chart paper, marker
Promise and Law on handouts
ex. school conflicts bleeding into troop time, listening to each other, getting off track and wasting time, cliques, not participating, money earning,
Objects for description, scrap paper, pencils
10 min / The 3 Hows and Girl Adult Partnership / Review 3 Processes (the 3 Hows of Girl Scouting) and Girl Adult Partnership using graphics (GSUSA graphic and progression graphic on handouts)
What keeps teens engaged in Girl Scouting – data driven answers.
– ownership of the process, feeling like its “my troop”
-leadership opportunities
-travel, accomplishing more in troop than they could on own
-friendship and social aspect
-resume building and college prep
Or, framed in the 3 Hows……
1. Girl Led – teens want adults to get out of the way and let them lead. They want to choose what they explore, with ideas and expertise offered but not forced by adults
2. Cooperative Learning – the social learning experience for teens offered in Girl Scouts is key, a safe space to lead and fail
3. Learning by Doing -authentic learning opportunities with experts and travel, the ability to choose their adventure and explore in an informal learning environment is teen Girl Scouts
Girl Adult Partnership – The adult role starts to wane as teens grow in their leadership role
Why? “Hey, I’m just a mom who wants to earn some fun badges with my kid and her friends!”
-Girl Scouts 100+ years old, changed many times
- 21st century girls need leadership development
-Girl Scouts still do many of the things you remember/anticipated (badges, cookies, community service, crafts, outdoors)
-we offer professional training on how to weave GSLE into all of the above
- Journeys are designed with these elements already built in!
Activity: Brainstorm a Hike with teens using 3 Hows and Progression / Hand out lecturette
Large group brainstorm / Handout
5 min / BREAK / Set out Journeys, Post Teen Journey Top 5
10 min
20 min / Journeys
Customize your Journey / Reference hand-out and review 3 series of journeys and teen themes:
Cadette
Breathe: Girls use all 5 senses to focus on air - noise pollution, silent time, aromatherapy etc.
Amaze: Navigate the twists and turns of relationships
MeDia: Girls learn about the media and the influences it has on their lives.
Senior
GIRLtopia: Girls learn to define and express their vision for an ideal world.
Sow What?: Learn about the global food network
Mission: Sisterhood Girls define sisterhood and how widening girls’ networks broadens their world and benefits the world as well.
Ambassador:
Your Voice, Your World: Use your voice by developing networking, planning, and communication skills for advocacy
Justice: How to help justice prevail, through networking and ideas for college and
Careers.
Bliss, Live It!: Girls explore dreams and dreamers.
Flip through adult guide and discuss girl’s starting to use this!
Amaze adult guide as example.
Review first 25 pages are resources to help guide the girls on the Journeys
Pg. 6-7 journey theme highlights
Pg. 8-9 awards for the journey
Pg 10-11 Snapshot summary, 3 Hows reminder.
Sample sessions have everything you need, girls are going to want and need to customize.
Amaze adult guide, Session 2 Pg. 39
Ex. Materials list and advance prep, activities list, and detailed instructions
3 keys to Leadership:
Discover, Connect and Take Action, “The learning theory that the Journeys are built around. Together with the 3 Hows, form the structure that modern Girl Scouts and the promise of leadership development is built on
Scenario (or brainstorm) use the following scenario to demonstrate the 3 keys and a Journey connection.
“The girls comment on a corner in their community that they bike ride through often where the air is particularly smelly from roadway pollution “
Discover ideas: find out about air pollution causes and effects on environment, people, animals. how air pollution is mitigated
Connect ideas: what expert in my community specialize in this, who else cares about this?
Take Action ideas: partner with Bike to Work day organizers to incentivize participation by commuters, get city funding to develop green barrier between bike path and roadway
*By completing the steps above with some attention paid to the awards, girls would earn the Breathe Journey. “Its your Journey, Customize It” training offer more ideas and practice on how to facilitate this approach with girls
Teen Journey Top 5
1. You may not to use the girl books at all.
You can substitute activities that get at the same idea. The Adult Guide tells you what pages from the Adult Guide and Girl Book that you can copy.
2. If the girls have studied a subject covered in the Journey in school, cool!
Explore another aspect of the same topic or simply check their knowledge. If they “have it” move on. None of us want to be bored going over the same information over and over!
3. Bored?
Make sure girls are aware of field trips and guest speakers opportunities. Take a break and come back to the Journey later using a different approach.
4. Consider having a weekend retreat for Journeys.
Girls plan, and they can typically complete all the steps of the Journey and the basic planning for their Take Action Project.
5. Watch for GSCO Community Partners
GSCO is actively asking experts to provide opportunities for girls to do Journeys with them! Activity Finder, Program Team can hook you up.
Activity: Participants are role playing as girls.
Break up into groups (count off so co-leaders are not in the same group) and have small groups choose a session or whole Journey from the choices at their table.
Each group brainstorms ideas for redesigning the session/journey based on local resources or their likes and interests and presents redesign to entire group.
Group discusses how to expand Journeys…did you feel (as the girl) empowered to change this session? How do you think the girls would relate to this activity?
Closing question: What do adults specifically do to ensure that the girls are the decision-makers for each Journey session?
Answer: exactly what we did here!!! / Hand out lecturette
Hands on Journey adult guide flip through
Lecturette
Possible Large group brainstorm
Small Groups / Set of Journey books, at least one per 2-3 adults
Hand out
Handout
Chart paper, Top 5
Complete set of Journeys, paper and pens for recording
10 Min / Girls Guide to Girl Scouting / Combo of badge book and handbook and NEW reflection section. Easy to understand and use.
Handbook
Several choices for earned awards eg.
Silver and Gold Torch – serving in a leadership office
Community Service Bar – 20 hours of service
Teen Mentoring Awards PA, CIT, VIT (Program Aide, Counselor in Training, Volunteer in Training)– coming up
Badges
Flip to fold out and highlight awards there
Use Collage Artist badge as example
– highlight 5 steps, 3 choices each same at Brownies
-Legacy badges, cookie business and financial literacy
My Girl Scouts
Reflection, scrapbook
Debate – are older girls into badges anymore? Less popular as they get older
Discuss:
· An activity can be counted only once for one
award
· Earning awards in Girl Scouts is about QUALITY not quantity.
· Badges activities can be customized similar to Journeys as long as activity is in spirit of what is printed / Guided flip through / Girls Guides at least 1 per group of 4 women
10 min / Teen Mentorship Awards / Leadership Progression – leading younger girls
LiA
-Journey based awards for Cadette aged girls
-work with Brownies troop on Journey activities
-described in Girls Guide and Brownie Adult Journey Guides
PA
-formal training on how to lead younger girls
-used at day camps and overnight camps, by Council and volunteers/service units
-progression within PA, 1st year PAs will have different skills than 3rd year PAs
-$5 fee is for pin
CIT
-Senior/Ambassador resident camp program
-apply online through camp registration process