Situation Study teams are formed by establishing groups of at least four members each. Each Situation Study team should begin the Earth system science (ESS) analysis by completing the following steps of the Protocol:

Step 1 -- List what is known. 
Step 2 -- List what is needed

Situation Study team members will each need to choose an Earth system sphere to study.

After Completing the first two steps of the protocol, they will meet with their Sphere Experts team members. Their Sphere Experts team will be composed of people from the other Situation Study teams who are studying the same sphere.

The Sphere Expert teams will do Earth system science (ESS) analysis by completing the third step of the Protocol:

Step 3 -- Gather information to complete an Earth system science (ESS) analysis. 

Part I Event < to > Sphere
Students learn about a specific Earth system science sphere quickly and effectively as they become an expert in one of the spheres.

Once students have completed their sphere research, they will return to their original Situation Study team made up of experts from each of the four Earth system science spheres.

They will then share the results of their part of the sphere study with their Situation Study team and complete the analysis of the ESS relationships that occur between and among the spheres.

Part II Sphere < to > Sphere
Using the results from their research with the other sphere experts and their situation study teams, they will make predictions regarding the situation

Step 4 -- Present your findings of the Protocol.