Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Brownie Maker Badges: Survey Results

 


When GSUSA introduced the new Maker badges in the summer of 2023, I wondered what people would think of them, and how they would actually do them.  My off-the-cuff guess based on years of reading Facebook groups for Girl Scout leaders was that people would probably do crafts and pass over much of the design talk/information given with these badges.  I decided while I was reviewing these badges over the summer and fall of 2023 (see my archives on the bottom right side of the screen for posts) that I was going to run a survey in the spring to see what actually happened.  This post is about the results of my Brownie survey.  

98 people responded to this survey.  54 had multi-level troops and 44 had Brownies only.  One non-leader responded. 10 had been leaders for a year or less, 44 for 1-3 years and 43 had been leaders for more than three years.  

46 had earned at least one of the Maker badges this year (51 did not), and 35 said at least one was definitely on the list for next year.  54 said they might earn one next year and 9 said they were not interested.  

I asked why people had not done one this year.  45 said they had, 16 said they reviewed them and chose not to do them, 15 already had a full schedule when the badges came out and 21 did not have any particular reason, they just chose to do other things. 

Of the 46 people who responded, 30 said they earned 1 Maker badge, 8 said they earned two and eight said they earned three. 

One thing I noted in reviewing all the plans was that there was a lot of similarity between levels such that multi-level troops could, with little adjustment, use the same plans with all the girls.  I wondered how many people took advantage of this feature.  22 of those who responded had Brownie-only troops.  11 had multi-level troops and had all the girls do pretty much the same thing before awarding the level-appropriate badge.  9 were with multi-level troops in which each level worked independently and 7 had multi-level troops and had the girls do some activities together and others by level.  

I asked those who had not earned any of the Maker badges to leave the survey before answering this, but 54 people responded when I asked if their troop earned Art and Design. 33 said they had; 21 had not. 

Art &  Design

Next, I asked how people went about earning the Art and Design Badge.  

Forms response chart. Question title: If your troop did Brownie Art and Design,  how did you do it? . Number of responses: 33 responses.

VTK's plans for Art and Design take two meetings of an hour each, and include two full-fledged craft projects plus some drawings/sketches.  I wondered what people were actually doing.  
Forms response chart. Question title: How many meetings did it take you to finish Brownie Art and Design? . Number of responses: 33 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: The VTK plans call for one craft at each of two meetings, plus a drawing or sketch at the beginning of each meeting.  What did your troop do? . Number of responses: 33 responses.

The first step for Art and Design is to Explore Art and Design, and I asked what people did.

Forms response chart. Question title: Explore Art and Design offered a choice between a field trip or guest speaker or having a discussion of vocabulary words and finding examples in their environment.  Which did your troop do. Number of responses: 32 responses.

The second step is "Experiment with the elements" and VTK suggests a game of Simon Says.  I asked if people played. 

Forms response chart. Question title: Experiment With The Elements begins with a game of Simon Says that explores colors, line and textures.  did you do that?. Number of responses: 33 responses.

The VTK plans offer opening activities for meetings that do not correlate to one of the badge steps.  For this badge the opening activities were drawings and I asked if people did  them.  Only 2 did the drawings because of the VTK plans. 5 had the girls drawing because that's the bellwork they always give. 26 did not have the girls do the drawings.

While VTK offered the option of doing any number of crafts, the provided written directions for a paper quilt.  Two groups made it; thirty-two did not.  Only one person used just crafts from the GSUSA materials. Eight used one of GSUSA's ideas for crafts, and one of their own and twenty-four came up with their own crafts for this badge.  

The final step for Art and Design was Share Your Art and I left a free-form space for people to say what they did.  Here are the responses:
  • Art show for parents
  • We had an art show using cookie boxes as easels and display boards. The girls in other levels and parents came to our art show.
  • We had all of the art posted at our last meeting before Christmas break which was a party. Parents viewed, and then took home the art.
  • Showed the art to each other and parents at pick up.
  • Shared with families at end of meeting
  • I bought wood picture frames and mosaic tiles for them to decorate a frame
  • Designed art on paper bags for the food pantry
  • Made an art gallery for the girls and their parents to walk around and look at. We did this quickly right at pickup, so it didn't take a lot of extra time.
  • We’re putting one of their projects in our county fair over the summer
  • I don’t remember
  • Our service unit held an art show
  • Displayed them for parents to see at pick up and took pics for a virtual art show
  • Share with family
  • We made them gifts for Christmas
  • We went to the apple store and made emojis. Each kid presented their emoji after
  • They showed it to the whole troop and explained why they picked certain colors, etc
  • Scouts presented at end of mtg. Then displayed for multilevel group to see
  • Foam quilt block mural
  • World thinking day community art show
  • Art show for the parents
  • Had the girls make an item to give to someone else.
  • 4-seasons painting. We did different steps and techniques and combined with the old painting badge. I had the girls wrap up their painting and give to someone special for Christmas.
  • Had the girls from a fellow troop visit us and my girls did a show and tell with their art.
  • Took pictures and posted for parents and friends to see
  • We completed the painting badge at the brownie level with the art and design for daisies and brownies for most of the same activities - art was shared by having the girls make ornaments for a Christmas tree at our local community Christmas tree trail that we later visited
  • The girls made clay pieces that they will take home and share with their families and achools
  • Made creations our of clay, labeled and displayed for families at pick up
  • Showed their families
  • Gallery walk where everyone went around to look at each other’s.
  • Gallery walk
In case you are interested, the choices on the badge insert were to make a frame or a stand on which to display art, to put on an art show and plan the invitations and displays or to choose someone to give the art to, wrap it, and make a card for the recipient.  

My big question when reviewing the VTK plans was whether people would have the discussions outlined, or skip them.  

Forms response chart. Question title: For the step "Learn about Composition" VTK has you discussing symmetry, positive space and negative space, 3-D figures and patterns. Did you have that discussion? . Number of responses: 32 responses.


VTK supplied family handouts for this series of badges. Four people sent them home; twenty-nine did not. 

What did people think of this badge?
Forms response chart. Question title: How would you rate this badge? . Number of responses: 32 responses.

Create and Innovate

The second badge in the series is Create and Innovate.  Only 12 of the responding people did it. Of those, four attended a program, 2 followed VTK or the insert pretty closely, 4 reviewed VTK or the insert but made up their own plans and 2 used the steps on badge explorer to make their own plans. Six people took one meeting of over an hour, one had two meetings of an hour or less, three had two meetings over an hour each and two took three meetings or more.  One troop did only one craft for this badge.  8 troops did two crafts and three did three crafts or more. 

Three of the respondents did the suggested opening activity of building a bridge that can hold pennies between two stacks of books; nine did not. The VTK plans call for the leader to review the design thinking process with the girls.  Did they?
Forms response chart. Question title: The VTK plans call for the leader to review the Design Thinking Process during opening circle.  Did you do that?. Number of responses: 9 responses.

Then I went into a series of questions to gauge the degree to which leaders were following the plans produced by GSUSA

Forms response chart. Question title: For  Explore Innovation  the VTK plans have the leader presenting a problem and the girls brainstorming for solutions and acting them out.  Did you do that?. Number of responses: 10 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: For Explore Innovation, two of the three choices involved sketching something  Did your troop do this?. Number of responses: 12 responses.
Forms response chart. Question title: Make Something for Someone Else begins with a discussion of vocabulary words and of user-centered design.  Did you have such a discussion?. Number of responses: 12 responses.
Forms response chart. Question title: According to VTK, before the girls start their craft to Make Something for Someone Else, they are supposed to sketch it.  Did your girls do the sketch?. Number of responses: 12 responses.

The VTK plans call for the girls to do two different crafts.  They give a variety of choices and actually give plans for three different crafts.  Three troops used these plans, nine did not.  The same number of troops used a VTK-suggested craft for meeting one. One troop did only one craft for this badge, eight troops did two and three troops did three or more.  

None of the responding troops chose to to VTK's opening activity for the second meeting--having the girls interview each other about problems they face, and then sketching solutions.  Half the troops had the features and functions discussion noted in VTK and 25% of them did as VTK said and sketched the project of the day, labeling its features and function.  (I checked the badge insert and it does not say anything about sketching your projects). 

Next, I asked about the projects people did.  You can read the list here.You can read the list here. 

Forms response chart. Question title: The girls are supposed to make a craft for themselves, a community recipient or something for the outdoors.  Which did your troop do. Number of responses: 12 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title:  Suggested projects are a wallet, a journal, a small bookshelf, bath salts, seed balls, a first aid kit or emergency kit or organizing a community seed bank.  Did you do any of these? . Number of responses: 12 responses.

I have to say I'm a little surprised at how many people did nothing at all for step 4, Get Down to Business or Step 5, Share Your Creation.  I checked the individual responses and it was the same troops that did nothing for both steps.  
Forms response chart. Question title: The next step is Get Down To Business.  The choices are to design packaging for their product, create advertisements for it or to expand it into other products.  Which did you do?. Number of responses: 12 responses.

GSUSA put vocabulary lists on VTK and in the badge insert.  I asked what percent of those words people thought their girls knew now.  10 people said about half; one said none and one said one or two. 

I asked if people sent home the family packet provided by VTK and seven did not know it was there. Three saw it but chose not to send it home. Two sent home paper copies.  

I finished this section with two general questions about the badge and people's attitude.  
Forms response chart. Question title: Accepting that none of these responses is likely to be completely correct, which is most correct about your troop's experience with Brownie Create and Innovate?. Number of responses: 12 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Did your girls enjoy the Create and Innovate badge?. Number of responses: 12 responses.

Craft and Tinker

The Craft and Tinker badge was done by 24 troops.  
Forms response chart. Question title: How did your troop do Brownie Craft and Tinker. Number of responses: 24 responses.
Forms response chart. Question title: How many meetings did you spend on Brownie Craft and Tinker?. Number of responses: 24 responses.  SWAPS are a traditional Girl Scout activity in many places and are the opening activity for meeting 1 in VTK.  10 troops chose to do it, 14 did not. After making swaps, VTK has the girls discussing old items and new ways we do the same thing.  13 had the discussion, 11 did not.

Next VTK has the girls practicing measuring things with rulers.  13 troops did that; 11 did not.  That is not an activity in the badge insert.

Forms response chart. Question title: Projects suggested in VTK for the first meeting are making a craft with upcycles materials, a craft that requires measuring or a craft that requires tools. Which did your troop do. Number of responses: 24 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Crafts suggested by VTK were making salad dressing, yarn pom-poms, paper pinwheels, pounding nails into an outlined shape, small wooden magnets that need to be sanded, leatherwork project. Did you do one of these?. Number of responses: 24 responses.

As before I wondered how much of the design concept talk happened, and whether people sketched their crafts
Forms response chart. Question title: The plans for Discover Form and Fit begin with comparing sun hats to winter hats and using the words form fit and function. Then the girls are shown the materials for their craft and discuss the function and form or features of the craft and the features it needs before sketching the craft. Then they make the craft. Did you. Number of responses: .
Again, despite VTK giving a choice of a variety of crafts, most people chose to do other things

Forms response chart. Question title: VTK provides written directions to make a musical instrument, sculpt a coil pot, make a mask or make a paper basket.  Did you do one of these crafts? . Number of responses: 23 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Suggested crafts in VTK were making puzzles, making a toy car, building a frame for art, designing a mosaic or making a suncatcher. They also listed making a pendant necklace out of clay, sewing a pillow, designing a journal or building a toybox. Others were a paper basket, a pencil case, a bookshelf or a terrarium.  Did you do one of these? . Number of responses: 23 responses.
As before I wondered about discussions and sketching
Forms response chart. Question title: For Tinker with your craft, VTK calls for a discussion of tinkering, followed by a choice of three different reasons to tinker (to make it fit a theme, to improve it or to tailor it to a user). Girls then sketch how they would tinker with their original craft, and if there is time and materials, actually tinker with it.  Then they share their original craft and tinkering sketch with the group with the leader coaching them to talk about form, fit and function.  Did you. Number of responses: .
Six troops did only one craft for this badge; 8 did two and 9 did three or more.  You can read a list of the crafts here.  You can read a list of the crafts here.  I again asked about the VTK-supplied family handout and 18 people (75%) did not know it was there. Three knew it was there but did not send it home; three made copies to send home. 

Forms response chart. Question title: Accepting that none of these responses is likely to be completely correct, which is most correct about your troop's experience with Brownie Craft and Tinker?. Number of responses: 22 responses.

Forms response chart. Question title: Did your girls enjoy the Craft and Tinker badge?. Number of responses: 23 responses.

My Comments:

One frequent complaint about the VTK plans is the wordiness of the scripts.  The basic sentiment is "just tell us what to do, don't tell us what to say".  Don't give me all that stuff to say about all those design principles, just give us the activities to do.  The old Brownie Painting badge was developed pre-VTK.  I found the insert online and I compared it to the Art and Design insert.  I found:
  • Front Cover:  While both contain the five steps and the purpose, the Art and Design one has two paragraphs of text about the badge.
  • Page 2:  Art and Design has a list of 15 vocabulary words; Painting has four bullet-point tips and then the choice of 3 activities for step 1. 
  • Page 3:  Painting has a matching activity teaching 4 vocabulary words, which are painting styles.  Art and Design has four paragraphs of information and then three activities for step 1.
  • Page 4:  Art and Design has a page with 6 vocabulary words about styles and media; Painting lists three choices for Step 2, plus two "for more fun" activities
  • Page 5:  Painting has a paragraph of information, three activities for step 3, plus directions on how to make puffy paint.  Art and Design has two paragraphs of information about step 2, and then the three activity choices.
  • Page 6:  Painting has three activities for step 4, plus two "for more fun" ideas. Art and Design has a page on the elements of art.  
  • Page 7:  Painting has a paragraph of information, three activities for step 5, a "more fun" idea and a sidebar about paper dolls.  Art and Design has two paragraphs of information on step 3, plus the three activity choices, and throughout this insert, the activity choices are multiple paragraphs long, as opposed to a sentence or two in the Painting badges. 
  • Page 8: Art and Design has two paragraphs of information, and then the three choices for step 4, along with a "for more fun". Page 8 for Painting is the back page where girls are given ideas for adding the badge to their Journey and given room to reflect on the badge. 
  • Page 9: Photo page in Art and Design
  • Page 10:  Two paragraphs of information, three activities for step 5 and a "for more fun" activity.
  • Pages 11 and 12:  Photo pages
In short, when comparing the two, Art and Design has more text on all the text pages and uses 9 pages whereas Painting was really only 7.  Reviewing either VTK or the badge insert tells me there are a lot of concepts GSUSA is trying to teach, but rather than coming out and using those concepts in the badge steps or writing requirements that include demonstrating some knowledge of these concepts, the steps are still cutesy and activity-based. 

While GSUSA may want leaders to use the VTK scripts or close approximations of them, many of those who took my survey skipped a lot of the discussion items.  I can't say that I'm surprised.  Though some people say they use the badge inserts, I doubt many leaders are going to have girls sitting at meetings reading pages of text.  About 20% of the leaders surveyed created plans with the steps on Badge Explorer, without even looking at VTK or the badge insert.  On the other hand over 10% of those who responded said they lost their girls during all that talk.  

If you are going to have a badge that teaches specific principles or vocabulary, you need a way to teach it, either through lecture/conversation or through activities like a game that uses the words. GSUSA can develop plans for that, but if people don't read them, what good does it do?

As noted above, responses for this survey were solicited on Facebook groups for Girl Scout leaders.  I make no claim that the survey attracted a random group of leaders nor that the results would be duplicated if another group of 98 respondents was recruited.  Thanks for reading.

Looking for badges?  Check the link in my sidebar.  




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