All About Progression

All About Progression

All About Progression

Progression is a concept we love to talk about here at Girl Scouts—it’s a huge component of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, after all. But what does it mean and how do you know it’s working in your troop? Let’s break it down.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Progression

The main feature of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience is that it’s Girl Scout-led. That means that Girl Scouts should have a say in everything they do, whether that’s picking which badge to earn or planning the entire itinerary for an international troop trip. Will your newly formed Daisy troop be able to research activities, budget for supplies, and lead the meeting themselves from the get-go? It’s pretty unlikely, but that’s exactly where progression comes into play.

Progression enables Girl Scouts to acquire the necessary skills to become competent leaders, fearless outdoor enthusiasts, and adventurous travelers. Girl Scouts start at a baseline (What can they do now?) and practice the skills they need to get to the next level (What do they want to be able to do?). As they progress towards higher levels of complexity and difficulty, they’ll also take on more and more responsibilities.

Progression and a Troop Leader’s Role

As a troop leader, your role is to consider your Girl Scouts’ individual abilities as you explore, plan, and guide your troop’s activities. For younger troops, that means you’ll play more of an active role in presenting choices and helping Girl Scouts discover their interests. For older troops, you’ll step back to allow Girl Scouts to take the lead and provide guidance and coaching when needed.

By the time they bridge to Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors, your Girl Scouts will be the primary decision-makers and assume the majority of responsibility for their troop. You’ll never leave completely, but you’ll be sitting back and marveling at the extraordinary leaders you’ve helped nurture!

Progression in Practice

Because progression can sometimes seem fuzzy in practice, here’s an example of how it could look at each program grade level. You’ll notice what Girl Scouts are able to do, and what role you can play.

Choosing and Earning a Badge

Program Grade Level	Girl Scouts’ Role	Troop Leader’s Role
Daisy/Brownie	Express their interest areas Vote on this or that choices Carry out assigned kapers	Considering the troop’s interests, come up with a list of two or three badges Plan activities for Girl Scouts to do Identify where Girl Scouts can take the lead
Junior	Break out into small groups to brainstorm ideas, present their ideas to the larger group, decide how they want to make a final vote Decide which activities they’ll do to earn the badge	Ask questions to guide the decision-making process: Does the troop have enough money? Do we have enough time? Does everyone feel comfortable doing this activity? Help girls generate ideas for activities they could do
Cadette	Research badge options Use resources like Volunteer ToolKit and activity pamphlets to plan troop meeting activities	Observe the planning process and direct Girl Scouts to resources
Senior/Ambassador	Decide on badges and badge activities Consider troop budget as they plan Plan and lead troop meeting	Provide input when asked Pose open-ended questions to deepen Girl Scouts’ involvement and engagement

But how exactly do you go from Girl Scouts expressing their ideas to them then taking those ideas and coming up with a full meeting plan? Well, let’s go through the framework:

In the beginning, you’ll be doing the majority of the planning and work (With troop input, of course!)

Then, work your way to planning alongside your troop. Show them how you go about planning a meeting. Incorporate questions so they get a sense of how you think through problems. So, you could say, “We agreed to set aside $25 for this activity. Would we have enough to go to the museum to earn the Space Science badge? How much does going to the museum cost? If we don’t have enough money, what could we do instead?”

With that foundation in place, step back and let Girl Scouts take the reins. Be ready (but not too ready, since you want to give them space to try out different things and make mistakes) to step in to support if they need assistance.

Finally, step alllll the way back and let the troop do it by themselves.

So, while your Daisies might not be able to balance the troop budget and reach out to a potential guest speaker for your troop meeting now, there’s a clear pathway to get them there. And when your Girl Scouts reach that pinnacle of doing it all by themselves, know that you were instrumental to their success. Way to go, troop leader!