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OVERVIEW
CAS is a framework for experiential learning, designed to involve students in new roles. The emphasis is on learning by doing real tasks that have real consequences and then reflecting on those experiences over time. All diploma candidates are required to complete the CAS hours as defined by the International Baccalaureate Organization. CAS stands for Creativity, Action and Service and is an important component of the expectations for the full IB Diploma Candidate.
This philosophy is based on the assumptions that:
• Education neither begins nor ends in the classroom or in the examination hall and the essential aspects of education may exist outside both.
• An international education must go well beyond the provision of information and is inevitably involved in the development of attitudes and values which transcend barriers of race, class, religion, sex or politics.
• The will to act in the service of the community (either local, national or international) complements intellectual development and the academic curriculum.
• IB schools have a special challenge and opportunity to establish links with the local community and, in doing so, further the aims of international understanding.
• Creativity and Action should play an equal part with Service in any program; CAS should aim to challenge and extend the individual student; to develop a spirit of discovery and self-reliance; to encourage personal skills and interests; to inspire an awareness, concern and responsibility to serve the community, in general, and its disadvantaged, in particular.
ELEMENTS OF CAS
Creativity should be interpreted as imaginatively as possible to cover the widest range of arts and other activities outside the normal curriculum, which include creative thinking in the design, and implementation of service projects. Students should be engaged in group activities, and especially in new roles, whenever possible. Nevertheless, the individual commitment to learning an art form is allowed where goals are set and the student reflects on progress.
Activities may include:
• Newspaper, yearbook and literary magazine staff work
• Participation in a drama or dance production
• Participation in a choral or instrumental musical performance
• Preparation for submission to a literary magazine
• Design of lessons for a tutoring session
• Preparation for a display at an art show
Action can include participation in expeditions, individual and team sports, and physical activities outside the normal curriculum. It may also include physical activity in carrying out creative and service projects such as digging trenches to bring water to a village. Both creativity and action can be enhanced when done in cooperation with a service project.
Action projects may include:
• Participation in competitive athletic events
• Participation in school-sponsored clubs or organizations
• Participation in school-based committees
Service projects are often the most transforming element of the diploma program for the individual student; they have the potential to nurture and mold global citizens. While not all students may have the opportunity to participate in a global service activity, it is highly encouraged to seek out these interaction, building links with the community, whether it is the school, the local area, or on a national or international level. The relationship should show respect for the dignity of others.
Some service projects may include:
• Tutoring
• Volunteering at local hospitals, nursing homes or day-care centers
• Volunteer work for the Red Cross, homeless shelters, etc.
• Coaching activities
• Mission projects, Habitat for Humanity activities
What is not CAS?
The spirit of CAS should take precedence at all times. It is NOT an accounting of hours, but should be viewed as an opportunity to interact with others and in activities that are mutually beneficial to the student and his or her community. It does not include duties performed as part of the family or as part of religious devotion or proselytizing. It is not too much to suggest that CAS can assist in the discovering the true meaning of life, and in finding one’s place in the world by transcending cultural and socio-economic barriers. CAS is a privileged way to build one’s own place. It has transformed the lives of those who have made a commitment to it, and we trust, if done in the spirit of CAS, that students will find deep rewards.
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