Survey Results: Cadette Journeys and TAPs

  This is one in a series of posts about a survey I did of members of a number of Facebook groups for Girl Scout leaders.  The other posts published to date are:

• Survey Results: Badges
• Comments re GSUSA Programming
• Daisy Journeys and TAPs
• Survey Results:  Journeys and TAPs
• Survey Results:  What I Ordered, What I Got
• Your Turn to Talk About Badges
• Your Turn to Talk About Take Action Projects
• Brownie Journeys and TAPs
• Junior Journeys and TAPs

While I have other posts summarizing the data as a whole, this post is looking at what they said about Cadette Journeys and TAPs--Take Action Projects.  While the What I Ordered...post more fully described those who responded, in general I'd say the people who did had a higher than average involvement in and commitment to Girl Scouting. 

Do Troops Do Journeys?

GSUSA's original idea is that troops would spend most of their year on their Journey, with much of the programming tied into it.  Badges, camping and cookies were "side trips" but the year's goal was the end of the Journey.   That has never become a reality.  

My survey asked those who had Cadettes last year what their girls earned, and of about 100 people who responded to one of the items about Cadettes (not a professional survey designer, did not put "none" as a possible response), 49 troops earned one Journey, thirteen troops did 8 and eight troops earned 3-5 Journeys.  

Are TAPs Appropriate for Cadettes?

According to my read of GSUSA materials, Journeys are GSUSA's leadership curriculum and the overarching goal of the whole Journey program is to teach girls how to execute a Take Action Project--or in shorthand, a TAP.  What is a TAP?  The definition I've gleaned from GSUSA's materials is that a Take Action Project is one in which girls identify a need or problem, learn about things relating to the need or problem, preferably from people in the community who deal with it, and then design and implement a sustainable solution to that problem.  

Given that definition, 7 people did not believe they were appropriate for Cadettes, 131 said they were appropriate and 64 said they might be appropriate for some Cadettes.  Given that definition, 84 said their Cadette troop had done a TAP properly; 29 said they had not.  While 66% of people did not believe TAPs as I defined them were appropriate for Daisies, and 55% did not believe they were appropriate for Brownies, with  36%  thinking they were inappropriate for Juniors, only 3.4% did not think they were appropriate for Cadettes

How Are Take Action Projects Chosen?

At this time, there are three types of Journeys.  The original Journeys were developed about 15 years ago to be the backbone of a year's programming.  They used a process of "Discover, Connect, Take Action" and were correlated with Common Core.      

The Think Like a _____ journeys each teach a way of thinking based on a STEM topic, and then, if you follow the VTK scripts, use that way of thinking to conceive, plan and implement a TAP.

Finally there is an Outdoor Journey, put in at the demand of the membership, which is simply three particular outdoor-related badges, followed by a TAP.   

I asked how people who did the original Journeys with  Cadettes picked their TAP and gave people five choices.   87 people responded as follows:  

I asked the same question about the Think Like a Journeys, and  51 people  responded:

40 people responded about the Outdoor Journey

Do Journeys Help Prepare for Silver?

In order to work on the highest awards, the Bronze for Juniors, the Silver for Juniors or the Gold Award for high school girls, Girl Scouts must first complete a Journey.  In my opinion (which has no official backing) when the program was developed, the creators saw Journeys as themes for the year and as leader-guided trips through the TAP process--the same process they wanted done for the higher awards.  I asked if respondents thought Journeys helped prepare girls for Silver.  100 people responded:

What Take Action Projects Do Cadettes Do?

Here are TAPs people said their Cadettes did:

• Organized year end Camporee with the goal of improving experience and attendance of older girls
• Meet with ranger and did project at local girl scout camp
• With the Breathe Journey, they did what the book said and taught about air quality to a troop of Daisies. They did a lesson and then did a practical quiz.
• Painted a utility box for Breath and clean air
• Posters on recycling
• Video about trees (Breathe), mini-orienteering course at our meeting location (outdoor), frog homes (outdoor another time), teach TLACS to brownie and juniors (TLACS), develop Engineering activities for brownies and juniors (TLAE)
• Design and construct wheelchair ramp
• Leading the Brownies friendship badge
• After the first one, they voted to never do a Journey again & skip higher awards
• PSA about mean girls
• All Cadette journeys were completed as a Service Unit or Council event. I had no say in TAP
• We created a worksheet for younger girls to use to learn about trees
• Videos on non-bullying
• Assisted with a Bronze Award
• We lead hikes on trails that we blazed and taught Leave No Trace
• Ran an event for younger girls, assisted a women's shelter
• Organized a park clean up
• We’re in the middle of brainstorming think like an engineer right now!
• Trees and learning garden at new school
• MEdia--made a recruitment video for our council to use to recruit new GS, Think Like an Engineer--made Think Like An Engineer kits for Daisies in our council, Outdoor Journey--planned and executed an outdoor day for Daisies & Brownies at a local nature center
• I believe for this one one group produced a video on open burning and posted it to a you tube group.
• Taught a younger troop their journey in a day
• Not me as leader but our Cadettes have done campaigning for better air filtration systems, sharing social media etiquette.
• Our original Cadette Journeys were done at the SU level with limited TAP choices. TLAE- girls planned a structure for Cantastic, shopped for items, practiced then built the structure at the live event.
• One group wrote an original epic poem and printed and bound them and put them in little free libraries. The other group did a comic and also distributed in little free libraries.
• Deciding on tan vest group activities and service projects.
• Community recycling of cartons and other end of the year supplies at 6 schools
• Created inspirational bookmarks with QR code link to mental health resources and shared through local little free library along with a book drive to fill the libraries, STEM kits that were utilized at various Girl Scout recruitment events
• Hosting a GS event; painting tables at school
• Painted rocks to share key concepts, designed to meet a need of a local volunteer agency; a comic book to share key concepts with a younger troop
• Education of the public on Homelessness
• We are just starting Amaze right now.
• Lack of self confidence and sisterhood for homeless women - made positivity jar with encouraging messages and provided copies for womens' center to keep refilling it.
• The girls put up birdhouses in the park to support bat habitats
• They are doing the MEdia journey and will make media remakes.
• AMAZE- they noticed not all our GS camps have geocaches, which they love to do, so they offered to create geocaches for a camp along with materials for junior troops to earn the geocache badge there. It wasn’t very related to the journey theme but was important to them and all their idea and execution.
• We're still working on this one, for all but one of my girls this is their first year as a Cadette
• Educational meme
• Media - Made a video educating how to evaluate the news, another group made a music video on body image
• Researched plants that need little water and light and planted them and then gave them to their teachers. Plants have been shown to improve air quality and test scores.
• It was done as part of a Journey in a Day with the council, where the TAP was selected ahead of time
• Designed a banner for local parades to promote Girl Scouting separate from cookie sales
• Virtual FriendFest; book for hosting bridging ceremony; don’t remember the other one
• They chose “Breathe” and made a presentation on the many things that people do to contribute to poor air quality and presented it to their middle school science classes.
• The girls made parody television commercials for men’s versus women’s skin care products, to highlight how ridiculous the gender stereotyping of them is, then shared it online with their peers.
• With a larger troop we had too many ideas and couldn’t agree on one. So I looked into what they suggested, came up with the best three that we could implement, and they voted on that.
• Hosted a Tea for younger girls and talked about bullying and mental health and how.to be a friend
• They designed and led a conflict resolution workshop for younger Scouts
• Only one Cadette and she is burning out from all these TAPS
• Video on vaping
• They created first aid kids to be given out at a local establishment for hikers bikers and skiers
• They made kindness boxes with positive affirmations.
• Made seed bombs with seeds from native plants, worked with the food bank
• The girls presented to their homeroom classes about how plants are beneficial to learning and donated plants to their classrooms
• A video
• We did used make-up upcycling into usable art materials, and led a troop in the Brownie painting badge **this was during COVID, so we didn't have many choices!
• We have completed three Cadette projects. In all three cases (as I've done with my scouts since their first year as Brownies), the girls brainstormed ideas. As a separate step, I coached them on narrowing down to something they could conceivably do. They used consensus to pick a theme or project and worked together to build it.
• Project 1 - build a website and raise awareness of the issues faced by homeless people in Minnesota. Included guidance on how to help, what to donate and where. Considered a petition but lost steam.
• Project 2 - built an online guide for dealing with difficult social situations (from frenemies to bullying). The guide includes videos for identifying problematic behaviors and instructions for how to react/respond and who to talk to for help.
• Project 3 - MEdia remake - Each scout picked a stereotype of importance and completed their own remake of media that uses the stereotype.
• Youth surveyed their community and saw a need for a bridge to be replaced at a local park ( old one washed away) - youth reached out to civil engineer to help them understand how to build a bridge to replace the missing one - then used cookie money to purchase materials and then built the bridge with skilled carpenters and civil engineer
• Again mostly skits and posters. We did a skits about bullying and recorded it and played it for younger troops.
• Picked up trash throughout a large park in the county.
• Girls made a video about friendship and stereotypes
• Have not completed the outdoor journey yet
• Girl led, still simple
• Made swaps at a camporee
• Created an outdoor meeting space at their council office
• Some of my girls did a virtual Journey-in-a-Day for MeDIA and followed the instructions given for the TAP exactly as presented. For their Think Like an Engineer TAP, they came up with the idea to "book bomb" area Little Free Libraries with kids' books about different STEAM topics that they explored in their journey. They designed a book plate explaining their project using CANVA and we ordered books at our last meeting. They'll finish this TAP after winter break by distributing their books to Little Free Libraries in their neighborhoods.
• They created video of how to be a good friend with examples of being a not good friend and being a good friend and then led a brownie meeting that included teaching about being a good friend
• They built new archery stands for a GS camp
• We’ll see what they decide (they are doing the engineering journey now)
• Get kids out and moving during COVID by posting about geocaching and hiking opportunities.
• Helped foster social connections during COVID by planning online tea parties for elementary school kids. They taught an art project, a song, how to make a "fancy" snack, and had a game & conversation while everyone ate their snacks.
• They completed it at camp. They presented their activities to the camp and created plants for a nursing home.
• The Original MEdia journey we did at an event, so none of those options covered it.

My Comments

Well, the projects are growing more complex as the girls get older, and that's a good thing.  I wish I was a better survey designer and that a more random group of Cadette leaders had responded, because I'd really like to know what percent of Cadette troops do Journey and TAPs.