Think Like a Citizen Scientist is one of the newer STEM Journies GSUSA put out in the last few years. This post is an attempt to summarize the lengthy VTK plans into an easy-to-read quick resource. Once you have decided to lead the Journey at a particular level, I highly recommend reviewing the VTK plans and their talking points. I also recommend going to the GSUSA store and downloading the (at this writing) free packet for this Journey. It does the best job of explaining the TAP process of anything I've seen GSUSA publish The way these Journeys are designed, it is clear that the TAP is an integral part. The purpose of the Journey is learn scientific skills and then to apply those skills to conceiving, planning and carrying out a TAP. If you as a leader are trying to come up with TAP ideas before the Journey ever starts, you are doing it wrong. As the girls are brainstorming for their TAP the girls are reminded that the same process is used in developing projects for the Silver and Gold Awards and that they can use projects the group decides not to do, or they can expand on a group idea or design other projects to solve the same problems. I know people hate the long VTK scripts but while I have not worked with older girls, it seems to me that the questions and talking points give the girls direction in picking the TAP. Unless they've revised the plans since I reviewed them, one complaint I had about the younger girls' plans for the "Think Like A..." Journeys is that they gave detailed scripts for content part of the Journey but almost no direction for the TAP and how to pull one out of the girls. Simply put, I think you are doing yourself and your girls a disfavor if you do not at least review the VTK plans before starting this Journey. If you don't want to dig your way through VTK, Girl Scouts Farthest North has them publically available on their website. Just scroll to the bottom of this page. Requirements According the the Badge Explorer, in this Journey, Cadettes will: Find out how citizen scientists make observations, collect data, and help scientists conduct scientific research. Do 3 citizen science activities: make observations about your environment, create a community field guide, and a SciStarter project. Plan a Take Action project that helps others. The Senior requirements are: Find out how citizen scientists make observations, collect data, and help scientists conduct scientific research. Do 3 citizen science activities: make observations about your environment, design a way to test a hypothesis, and a SciStarter project. Plan a Take Action project that helps others. Ambassadors Find out how citizen scientists make observations, collect data, and help scientists conduct scientific research. Do 3 observation sessions of a citizen science project from SciStarter. Collect data from your community and plan a Take Action project that helps others. As it does for all the Journies now, VTK gives meeting plans that call for earning this Journey over six meetings. While VTK includes multi-level plans for other Journeys for older girls, there is no C/S/A plan for older girls for this Journey. However, the multi-level plans for the other Journeys are basically the Senior plan so I'll be you can figure out how to handle it. If you are interested in the younger girl versions of this Journey, they are summarized here. Meeting 1: Cadettes begin this Journey by reviewing some observations made by famous scientists and brainstorming what they might mean. Cards with the observations on one side and the story on the other are provided in VTK. One is that the scientist noted that mold grew on his petri dish, but the bacteria he was studying all died near the mold. Seniors' opening activity has cards with scientific discoveries on one side, and the story on the other. For example, one card talks about natural selection, and the story on the other side is about Darwin. Girls are to brainstorm what type of experiment might have led to the discovery. Ambassadors begin with cards with quotes from famous scientists. They review them and then create a tip sheet for those doing observations. After the opening ceremony and any necessary business is concluded, the leader shows the videos from the SciStarter website which describe various Citizen Science projects. Citizen Science projects are not random science experiments; rather they are projects in which ordinary citizens observe things in their area and contribute the data to projects run by real scientists. If the leader is not able to download or stream the videos, she can describe the projects verbally. The leader explains that during this Journey girls will learn to use the scientific method to answer questions about the world and to help others. They will participate in a Citizen Science project and do a Take Action Project. The TAP can include another Citizen Science project, but you have to connect the project to your community or use what you did on the project to educate and inspire others. Cadettes practice observation and data recordation by observing their surroundings for twenty minutes and taking notes. It is recommended that troops go outside for this activity, but it can be done indoors and include observations of people. After making observations, Cadettes find the three most interesting facts and develop scientific questions about them, and then create hypotheses to answer those questions. Girls share these with each other. Seniors do pretty much the same thing, but instead of putting their observations on plain paper, they use a form from VTK. Also, they take things one step further--after developing the hypothesis, they develop an experiment to test the hypothesis. After picking their Citizen Science project, Ambassadors talk about the scientific method, identify the questions they are trying to answer by participating in that project, and to form a hypothesis about what they will observe. After a discussion on observation and data gathering skills, Ambassadors complete their Sci Starter project. At the end of the meeting, the leader asks if they observed anything harmful or disruptive to nature and then asks for the girls to brainstorm problems they believe the scientific method could solve. Girls are asked to use their observation skills between this meeting and the next to find problems they could solve. Meeting 2 Cadettes begin the second meeting by making lists of local, national and global problems they have observed. During the business portion of the meeting they discuss what communities they are part of or which are nearby and decide on a community to impact with their Take Action Project. They then brainstorm problems faced by that community and how the scientific method could be used to solve those problems. Girls do not pick a Take Action Project at this time. Cadettes then move on to viewing more SciStarter projects and then pick on or more to complete at the next meeting. Next they talk about data collection and tools that can help with data collection such as measuring tapes, magnifying classes and cameras. Then Cadettes do another session of observation, observing whatever they selected at the last meeting as being worthy of further study. They take field notes and talk about what should be included in field notes. They talk about what their data might mean and about combining their observations with the observations of others. They put their notes together to create a field guide to the object of their observations. The VTK talking points for the closing have the leader pulling together the observation and data collection process with the process for deciding on a TAP. Seniors start off by listing all the communities they are part of. After discussion, they pick a community to impact with their TAP. They talk about how science could be used to solve the problems they found, but do not pick a TAP at this time. After picking a community to serve, Seniors then watch more SciStarter videos and pick SciStarter project. Next, they talk about data collection tools as the Cadettes did, and then move on to performing the experiment they decided on in meeting 1, to test their hypothesis, and they record the data. They talk about the data they collected and whether it supported their hypothesis. The leader talking points at the end of the meeting relate the scientific method to solving problems via a Take Action Project. As Ambassadors arrive they look at the problems identified at the last meeting, as well as any they have observed since then and list the impacts of those problems on both a local and global level. Girls pick one community to affect with their TAP and then list members of that community and groups and organizations that are part of that community. Next, they look at the problems they they observed and how they affect the chosen community. They talk about how science can help solve those problems. From there, Ambassadors take a look at the data collected during the previous meeting and talk about whether it supported their hypothesis. Then the leader talks about multiple trials and iteration and the girls perform another set of observations related to their SciStarter project. They compare the results with their first observations and upload the data to the SciStarter website. Ambassadors then talk about their TAP. They look at problems they identified earlier and how those problems affect the community they have chosen for their TAP. They take out any problems that don't affect their chosen community and then pick on problem on which to focus for their TAP. Next they brainstorm about data they could collect to help them solve the problem. They could collect data through online research, interviewing people, or observation. They could also choose another Citizen Science project. They make a plan to gather data at their next meeting. Meeting 3 For Cadettes, the third meeting begins with a game. The problems identified at prior meetings are written on cards and put in a bowl. The girls sit in a circle. A girl draws a card, and then asks a question she has about the problem. If another girl can answer the question, she throws a ball to that girl. If no girl can answer, then the question is added to a list. The ball is then thrown to another girl, who asks another question about the same problem. The process repeats until all the girls have asked questions about the first problem. Then they go on to another. For example, if the problem is poverty, you might ask: Why are people poor? What does our community already do to combat poverty? Who does poverty impact the most in our community? During the meeting opening, the girls pick a problem to address with their TAP, looking at the same factors the Seniors consider (see below). This is the meeting at which Cadettes do their SciStarter project, and they follow pretty much the same procedure as the Seniors and the leader talking points for the closing are similar to the Seniors' (see below). Seniors begin their third meeting by reviewing the problems identified in the prior meetings and then coming up with a hypothesis about why the problem exists. They are trying to do a root cause analysis. Next, the Seniors look at the problems they have identified and cross reference them with the community chosen in the prior meeting. They look at which problem is most important to the chosen commuity, which affects the most people in the community, which one they are most interested in and which one are they in the best position to address, among other things. They pick one problem to address in their TAP. Seniors begin their SciStarter project, following the directions on the website. Before they begin their observations, Seniors are asked to identify the question they are trying to anwer in the project and to come up with their own hypotheses. After making their observations, Seniors compare the data with their hypothesis before sending the data to SciStarter. Finally, in the closing the leader talking points relate the scientific method to developing a TAP. At the third meeting, Ambassadors begin by reviewing the data they collected at the prior meetings, along ewith the hypotheses they made and during the opening part of the meeting they discuss whether or not the data supports their hypothesis. They are then given the opportunity to reformulate thier hypothesis. This is followed by a third observation session of their SciStarter project, followed by a discussion regarding similarities and differences in the data collected in each session. From there, Ambassadors move on to gathering data for their Take Action Project, using the data collection plan they created at the last meeting. This part of the "meeting" may be done individually, or involve a trip or meeting with someone outside of the troop's regular meeting. In the wrap-up the leader talking points again relate the scientific method to the process of developing a TAP. Meeting 4 Dreaming big is important and Cadettes start Meeting 4 by dreaming big about their TAP. They brainstorm how they would solve their chosen problem, given unlimited time and resources. During the opening, the leader explains that they will be designing their TAP at this meeting, and will be using the scientific method to help them. However, the project does not have to include science. They can address any issue they choose, but will use observation and data collection to help them. The leader talking points guide girls through analyzing the problem and developing a root cause sustainable solution. The leader may need to arrange computer time or bring in a speaker to provide information on the problem. After the girls have researched the issue, they propose solutions to the problem and the girls pick one as their TAP. The rest of the meeting is spent planning how to do the TAP. When Seniors start meeting 4 they are asked to brainstorm how they could learn more about their chosen problem, given unlimited time and resources. In the opening, the leader addresses the same issues as in the Cadette plan above. Seniors discuss what they know about the problem to be addressed, and what they need to know. Seniors decide how they will collect the needed data. After they have gathered data Seniors make a hypothesis about the impact of their TAP and then develop the steps for their TAP. They talk about how they will evaluate whether the TAP met its goals. They spend the meeting planning the TAP. The leader talking points guide the girls through the process and relate it to the scientific method. The meeting ends with the girls creating "to-do" lists denoting what each girl is responsible for doing and what will be done as a group. Ambassadors, at the start of their fourth meeting, organize their data. They look at the questions asked about their subject problem at prior meetings, and the answers they have been able to find vs information they still need. Data is placed on sticky notes and during the meeting is organized into categories: Causes, Impacts, Evidence of Problems, Community Resources, and Community Threats. They talk about how they will evaluate the success of their project, the goals of the project, and how they will measure the impact of the project. Next, the girls work in groups to propose solutions to the problem and to set out a method for accomplishing that solution. Then the troop comes together, hears the ideas and creates one high level solution to use as their TAP. The girls create to-do lists and break the project down into tasks to be accomplished and decide who is to do what. Meeting 5 For all three levels, girls spend Meeting 5 working on their Take Action Project and planning a celebration for Meeting 6. That celebration should include presenting the TAP to the invited guests. The VTK meeting notes specifically state that it may take more than one meeting to complete the TAP, and that it is ok if that happens. Meeting 6 In Meeting 6 the girls present their TAP to guests and then receive their awards. Girls are also asked to complete the STEM programming evaluation that goes with all the STEM programming released in the last few years. Image by TheUjulala from Pixabay