The CAS coordinator assists students in understanding what may or may not be a CAS experience. There are four guidelines that should be applied to any proposed CAS experience.
A CAS experience must:
• fit within one or more of the CAS strands
• be based on a personal interest, skill, talent or opportunity for growth
• provide opportunities to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile
• not be used or included in the student’s Diploma course requirements To further assist students in deciding on a CAS experience, the following questions may be useful for students to consider.
• Will the experience be enjoyable?
• Does the experience allow for development of personal interests, skills and/or talents?
• What new possibilities or challenges could the experience provide?
• What might be the possible consequences of your CAS experience for you, others and the environment?
• Which CAS learning outcomes may be addressed?
While it is not necessary for each CAS experience to address a CAS learning outcome, upon completion of the CAS programme, CAS students are required to present evidence demonstrating achievement of all CAS learning outcomes.
The CAS Stages
The CAS stages (adapted from Cathryn Berger Kaye’s “five stages of service learning”, 2010) provides the framework for students to consider, make plans for, carry out, and reflect on their CAS experiences/projects. The five CAS stages are as follows:
A CAS experience must:
• fit within one or more of the CAS strands
• be based on a personal interest, skill, talent or opportunity for growth
• provide opportunities to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile
• not be used or included in the student’s Diploma course requirements To further assist students in deciding on a CAS experience, the following questions may be useful for students to consider.
• Will the experience be enjoyable?
• Does the experience allow for development of personal interests, skills and/or talents?
• What new possibilities or challenges could the experience provide?
• What might be the possible consequences of your CAS experience for you, others and the environment?
• Which CAS learning outcomes may be addressed?
While it is not necessary for each CAS experience to address a CAS learning outcome, upon completion of the CAS programme, CAS students are required to present evidence demonstrating achievement of all CAS learning outcomes.
The CAS Stages
The CAS stages (adapted from Cathryn Berger Kaye’s “five stages of service learning”, 2010) provides the framework for students to consider, make plans for, carry out, and reflect on their CAS experiences/projects. The five CAS stages are as follows:
1. Investigation – Identifying interests, skills and talents to potentially use for CAS experiences/projects and areas for personal growth and development.
2. Preparation – Determining roles, responsibilities, necessary resources, and an action plan.
3. Action – Implementation of the idea or plan to meet the CAS experience/project
4. Reflection – Describing what happened, expressing feelings, formulating ideas, and making connections.
5. Demonstration – Make it clearly known what was learned and accomplished.
CAS Experiences
The following guidelines should be applied when deciding if something may be considered a CAS experience:
2. Preparation – Determining roles, responsibilities, necessary resources, and an action plan.
3. Action – Implementation of the idea or plan to meet the CAS experience/project
4. Reflection – Describing what happened, expressing feelings, formulating ideas, and making connections.
5. Demonstration – Make it clearly known what was learned and accomplished.
CAS Experiences
The following guidelines should be applied when deciding if something may be considered a CAS experience:
- Meets one or more CAS strands
- Meets at least one of the CAS learning outcomes
- Based on a personal interest, skill, talent or opportunity for growth Provides opportunities to develop attributes of the IB learner profile Is not used or included in your DP course requirements.
- Is at least 1 month (4 weeks) in length from planning to completion