Wood Badge II Training for Scouters

There has been a lot of interest of late from Scouters who are eager for more training, so now seems like a great time to re-introduce the Wood Badge program!  Wood Badge is an internationally recognized volunteer-development program focusing on the knowledge and skills needed to facilitate the Scouting program.  These competencies include youth program facilitation, outdoor skills, Scouter support, risk management and safety.

Scouts Canada divides Wood Badge into two parts: Wood Badge I and Wood Badge II. Wood Badge I focuses on helping Scouters acquire basic program facilitation knowledge and is typically completed in the form of eLearning.  Scouters are formally recognized with Wood Badge woggles upon completion of their Wood Badge I.  Scouters with Wood Badge I can count towards Scouter:youth ratio in their Sections.

Wood Badge II focuses on the practical application of the concepts learned in Wood Badge I and introduces basic outdoor and Volunteer-support skills. Scouters are formally recognized with the Wood Badge beads, Gillwell neckerchief and Wood Badge certificate upon completion of the Wood Badge II program.

At the moment, only seven Scouters in our group have achieved their Wood Badge (ten if you count Group Committee) – Scouters Dan, Erica, Geoff, Jason N, Mark, Rhonda & Shannon (plus Scouters Dave, Sharon, and Shawn on Group Committee).

In the past, Wood Badge II training was delivered on a week-long camp, or on a series of weekend camps/workshops.  I’m sure many of you have heard the stories from our WBII experiences!  With the Canadian Path the WBII program has changed to match the new Plan – Do – Review method of learning.  Scouters will pick the modules they want to focus on, find a mentor, and work away at them at their own pace.  Some Scouters could complete the program in a few weeks or months, whereas others could take a year or two.  The modules basically cover EVERY aspect of being a Scouter, and all of them are hands-on in nature.  There is no computer based learning – this is all learning by doing!  The great thing about the new WBII approach is that now Scouters that are awarded their Wood Badge are truly capable of facilitating the Scouting program in any capacity.  This is more than just surviving a hard camp, this is recognition that you are fully trained to mentor the youth wherever their adventures take them.

The Wood Badge II modules are listed below.  Some of you may have sufficient experience to “check-off” some them already – there is no need to complete training for something you have already mastered!

The idea is that upon completion of your Wood Badge, for all of the areas outlined below, you can demonstrate the skill the majority of the time with minimal support.  You can think through the skill as you demonstrate it, and can describe it step by step.   This is referred to as “Stage 3 – I Can…” on the Wood Badge chart.  It is of course possible that you have already earned your Wood Badge from your existing experience as a Scouter, but it is likely that there is at least one area that you need additional experience with.

Your first step in the journey to your Wood Badge is to choose 1-3 modules to start with.  Once you’ve decided where you want to start, we get together and assess your needs in the area.  From there we come up with a plan to get you the training and experience needed to finish any missing components.  The modules can be done in any order, and there is no time deadline.  Just take it on at your own pace!  Each module will help make it easier for you to facilitate an awesome youth program, and build your confidence as a Scouter 🙂

Ready to get started?  Just contact Scouter Jay!  #bringontheadventure

The 26 Wood badge II modules are:

Outdoor Skills

  1. Camping Skills – The game of Scouting mostly takes place in the outdoors.  Camping provides an adventurous environment with challenges which Scouts want to conquer. Having basic camping skills and knowledge will not only result in a safe outing but also a more enjoyable one for both youth and Scouters. 
  2. Facilitating Winter Adventures – Scouters support age-appropriate, youth-led winter adventures.
  3. Outdoor Safety Skills – Being outdoors is one of the greatest, but also riskiest aspects of Scouting. Taking steps to reduce the risks of accidents and injuries is an important aspect of planning for camps and other outdoor adventures. 
  4. Scoutcraft – Scoutcraft refers to a variety of skills and knowledge in the use of the tools required to have adventures in the outdoors. This includes lighting fires; cooking meals in the backcountry; building structures or tools using rope and spars (pioneering); and the safe use of knives, axes and saws. Basic competency in all of these skills is essential for fun and safe outdoor experiences.

Program Facilitation

  1. Assessing Program Quality – Scouts Canada has established a process to assist youth and their Scouters as they seek to plan, do and review safe and adventurous Scouting programs. The program quality framework includes objective criteria to aid in the planning process, and to serve as a set of self-assessment tools to assist youth and Scouters in the evaluation and improvement of their programs.  Our Scouting Year can be divided into four program cycles, aligned with the seasons. With each new season, we can imagine great new adventures. Each Section has a series of assessment questions to help evaluate its program. 
  2. Engaging Parents – There are many benefits to engaging parents in your program.  Engaged parents are able to see the value that their children are getting from the program and do their best to help make it successful. Children of parents who are engaged in their Scouting program are much more likely to return to Scouts year after year.  Engaged parents are more likely to volunteer as Scouters because they see how much fun Volunteers like you are having!  The bottom line is that an engaged group of parents will make your role as a Scouter much easier.  Note: We know that every family is unique. Duty of care for young people sometimes falls to other adults such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, or foster parents. For the purpose of this Scouter Development Card, we use the term “parents” to refer to anyone who has legal custody of a young person in Scouting.
  3. Facilitating Adventures – Adventure is about exploring new things, sharing new ideas, learning new skills and creating new paths. It’s about unique opportunities to explore one’s self and the world. It is part of every activity, enticing youth to take part in what Scouts do best: learning through the outdoors and seeking personal challenges.  Youth engage in the planning of their adventures on The Canadian Path. Through team planning, they develop the adventure. After completing the adventurous activity, the youth review it by talking about what they experienced, how they grew, and what made the experience exciting or challenging. Each youth will view the experience differently and learn uniquely from it, even though the adventure was shared with others. This is the cycle of learning on The Canadian Path.
  4. Facilitating a Balanced Program – The Canadian Path delivers a balanced program to all youth members. During their journey in Scouting, youth members regularly participate in adventures relating to each of the six Program Areas: Environment & Outdoors, Leadership, Active & Healthy Living, Citizenship, Creative Expression and Beliefs & Values. 
  5. Facilitating for Diverse Youth – On The Canadian Path, we are aware of each individual’s personal progression, as well as his or her background. Scouting is a journey, which means that youth make the program their own according to their own interests, goals and abilities.  This approach to Scouting is sometimes referred to as “age-appropriate facilitation”; however, the program may be adapted not only according to age, but according to other factors, such as gender, sexual orientation and religion. Scouters must appreciate the diversity within their Sections and adjust the way that they facilitate the program accordingly. 
  6. Facilitating Personal Progression – Each youth is encouraged to participate in a wide range of adventures in order to progress on The Canadian Path. The motivation comes from within the youth, rather than from an external set of standards to be achieved. Each youth has a unique set of skills and abilities. Youth work together on the adventures they opt to undertake, based on their skills and interests; they also pursue badges of their choosing.
  7. Facilitating Section Meetings – During their journey in Scouting, youth members regularly participate in meetings where they learn in a youth-led, non-formal educational experience of play and discovery.  Youth gain formal and informal leadership skills during these experiences.
  8. Facilitating SPICES Development – Through The Canadian Path, youth have the opportunity to develop in all aspects of their lives. In their personal progression through the adventures on The Canadian Path, youth work on all of the following dimensions of personal growth: social, physical, intellectual, character, emotional and spiritual. The acronym for these six dimensions is “SPICES”. They give shape to our Scouts Canada programming. For young people to reach their full potential, they need to explore each of these six dimensions of development.
  9. Facilitating STEM Adventures – It is Scouts Canada’s mission to help youth develop into well-rounded individuals better prepared for success in the world. In today’s world, more than ever before, this requires some basic literacy, self-confidence and curiosity in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). More importantly, STEM can be used as a powerful tool to help youth gain necessary 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, environmental and technology literacy, and collaboration.  To this end, we have a diverse and hands-on STEM program that aims to foster curiosity, nurture interest, increase self-confidence and break stereotypes around STEM and provide youth with exciting learning opportunities. 
  10. Facilitating the Outdoor Adventure Skills Program – Young people join Scouts to have adventures. These adventures can be hiking in a local conservation area, sailing a boat across a lake, exploring the local community, or planning and executing a multi-day trip across Baffin Island. As part of The Canadian Path, Scouts Canada has developed a comprehensive Outdoor Adventure Skills (OAS) program. Each OAS pathway is divided into nine stages, with a badge awarded for each stage. The purpose of the OAS program is not the badges, however. The Outdoor Adventure Skills should be seen as tools to support the Plan-Do-Review cycle.
  11. Fundraising – Scouters will develop fundraising skills to support the program and ensure access for all youth.
  12. Incorporating Spirituality – In Scouts, spirituality means recognizing you are part of a larger reality, something bigger than yourself. For some, that means taking part in a faith community and its system of belief in a higher power. For others, spirituality is connecting with nature or community. What form that exploration takes is left to the individual, but is respected by everyone involved in Scouting.
  13. Incorporating the Badge Program – The badges of The Canadian Path are used to celebrate the personal journey of youth in Scouting. In a tangible way, they mark the milestones of the journey and celebrate youth achievements.   One of the goals of The Canadian Path is to disassociate badges from personal progression, as the two have become synonymous over the years. Think of how a 10-year-old has grown since joining Cub Scouts two years earlier; while badges are souvenirs of this journey, the personal progression that each youth experiences is the journey itself.
  14. Planning for Youth-led Scouting – On The Canadian Path, the youth are the leaders. Scouters support and mentor the youth by encouraging leadership in age-appropriate ways. There are leadership roles and opportunities for youth built into the program to support the youth-led approach.  The expectation is that the amount of leadership required of the youth increases as they move from Section to Section and develop themselves as leaders.
  15. Using the Patrol (Team) System – The Patrol (Team) System is the recognition that everyone has something to offer the team. Everyone must be included and no one can be left behind as the team takes on its chosen adventures. Everyone has a say in what the group chooses to do.  By working together in a mutually supportive spirit, the team can accomplish more than any one member could accomplish alone.  Responsibilities and leadership are shared among the group, with the support and mentorship of the Scouters, who create a safe and respectful atmosphere in which the team can work.
  16. Working With Your Section Leadership Team – Section Leadership Teams (SLT’s) are an essential component of The Canadian Path. Each Section is led by a small group of senior youth members who work together as a team, supported by their Scouters. A Beaver Colony is led by its White Tail Council, and a Cub Pack is led by its Howler Council. In other Sections, the Section Leadership Teams are named for the Section’s unit name: Troop Leadership Team, Company Leadership Team, and Crew Leadership Team. Responsibilities and leadership are shared among the group with the support and mentorship of the Scouters who create a safe and respectful atmosphere in which the team can thrive.
  17. Youth-led Camping – Nature is an ideal setting for personal development and recreation.  Youth join Scouting for the opportunity to participate in camping and outdoor adventures that they have been involved in planning.  These activities must be fun and engaging for members, and comply with recognized health and safety practices. As Scouts, we have a responsibility to live in harmony with the natural environment and ensure that our outdoor adventures leave no trace. 

Volunteer Support

  1. Conducting Crucial Conversations – Shared leadership is an important part of volunteering in Scouting.  Scouters need to learn what it means to be part of a team within Scouts Canada and develop communication skills to be effective in this role. Part of this responsibility is addressing behavioural issues in a timely, constructive and respectful manner before they jeopardize program quality.
  2. Developing Effective Scouter Teams – Shared youth leadership is central to the Scout Method, and the practice of shared leadership is modeled by Scouters.  Working effectively as a team of Scouters to support youth members is imperative to facilitating high-quality programs on The Canadian Path.  One Volunteer is designated as the Contact Scouter within each Section. The Contact Scouter has the responsibilities of reporting to the Group Committee; coordinating with other Sections; and ensuring that planning, completion of Outdoor Activity Forms and other aspects of Group life are running smoothly. All Scouters support the youth when planning adventures. Responsibilities are shared among the Scouters and do not fall to any one Scouter. 
  3. Growing the Movement – Scouts Canada aims to help develop well-rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world. In order to achieve our mission, we need your help in bringing great, safe Scouting adventures to more Canadian youth.  Growth isn’t something to be left to chance. It requires forethought and commitment to carry out a strategy. In Scouting, growth happens when year-to-year youth retention is high and there are good youth recruitment practices in place.
  4. Recruiting Volunteers – One of the most important elements of Scouts Canada is the Volunteer base upon which the organization is built. Without Volunteers, Scouting would not exist. For this reason, recruitment of Volunteers is crucial to providing an excellent program, growing the organization, and the strength of the organization as a whole.  Volunteers affect each and every aspect of Scouts Canada; recruiting Volunteers who will help improve the quality of our program and the experiences of the youth is key to the success of Canadian Scouting.
  5. Volunteer Support – The primary role of all Scouters is to facilitate youth-led, high-quality programs. This requires focus on appointing the right people to the right roles, ensuring that Scouters receive clear and meaningful orientation, seeing to it that experienced Scouters are in place and willing to provide regular coaching to others and meaningful recognition for work well done.

Posted in Training & Development by with no comments yet.