C.A.S
GD Goenka World School
Created by:
Ananya Singh & Esha Sethi
Managed by:
Gia Wadhwa, Parth Agarwal , and Adonia Vats
What is CAS ?
Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
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Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP.
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Service – an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student. The rights, dignity, and autonomy of all those involved are respected.
CAS enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience.
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It provides opportunities for self-determination and collaboration with others, fostering a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from their work.
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At the same time, CAS is an important counterbalance to the academic pressures of the DP.
Significance of CAS in IBDP
CAS in the IB curriculum
Each subject group of the Diploma Programme can contribute towards CAS. The examples below are suggestions only; teachers and students can create their own authentic connections where possible.
GROUP 1
GROUP 1
Group 1 students could engage in creative writing, produce audiobooks for the blind, or write a movie and produce it.
GROUP 2
GROUP 2
Group 2 students could provide language lessons to those in need, develop language guides using technology, or raise awareness of the culture of the language being studied through a website or other forms of communication.
GROUP 3
GROUP 3
Group 3 students could record the oral histories of people living in elderly residential facilities and create family memoirs, create a social enterprise addressing a community need or collaborate on a community garden.
GROUP 4
GROUP 4
Group 4 students could form an astronomy club for younger students, help maintain a nature reserve or promote physical participation in “walk to school” groups.
GROUP 5
GROUP 5
Group 5 students could teach younger children to overcome mathematical challenges, maintain financial accounts for a local charity, or plan a mathematics scavenger hunt at school to highlight the importance of mathematics in everyday life.
GROUP 6
GROUP 6
Group 6 students could take dance lessons that lead to a theatrical performance, participate in a community art exhibition or community initiatives (such as performances or photo exhibits) for hospitals or aged-care facilities.
AIMS
The CAS program aims to develop students who:
enjoy and find significance in a range of CAS experiences
understand they are members of local and global communities with responsibilities towards each other and the environment.
actively participate in planned, sustained, and collaborative CAS projects
explore new possibilities, embrace new challenges and adapt to new roles
purposefully reflect upon their experiences
identify goals, develop strategies and determine further actions for personal growth
Requirements
There is a reasonable balance between the three strands of CAS:
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Creativity: Exploring and extending ideas leading to an original or interpretive product or performance
Activity: Physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle
Service: Collaborative and reciprocal engagement with the community in response to an authentic need
The CAS program begins at the start of the Diploma Programme and continues regularly on a weekly basis for at least 18 months.
Students maintain and complete a CAS portfolio as evidence of their engagement with CAS.
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Students engage in CAS experiences involving one or more of the three CAS strands. At Louisenlund, students have to attend three “Gilden” or activities per school year.
In addition, students undertake a CAS project of at least one month’s duration that addresses a single strand of CAS or combine two or three strands.
Students use the CAS stages: investigation, preparation, action, reflection, demonstration
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CAS emphasizes reflection because it informs student’ learning and growth by allowing students to explore ideas, skills, strengths, limitations and areas for further development
Students must have at least three formal documented interviews with their CAS coordinator
All seven CAS learning outcomes have to be achieved.
The five CAS stages are as follows
Investigation
Students identify their interests, skills, and talents to be used in considering opportunities for CAS experiences, as well as areas for personal growth and development. Students investigate what they want to do and determine the purpose of their CAS experience. In the case of service, students identify a need they want to address.
Preparation
Students clarify roles and responsibilities, develop a plan of actions to be taken, identify specified resources and timelines, and acquire any skills as needed to engage in the CAS experience.
Action
​Students implement their idea or plan. This often requires decision-making and problem- solving. Students may work individually, with partners, or in groups.
Reflection
Students describe what happened, express feelings, generate ideas and raise questions. Reflection can occur at any time during CAS to further understanding, to assist with revising plans, to learn from the experience, and to make explicit connections between their growth, accomplishments, and the learning outcomes for personal awareness. Reflection may lead to new action.
Demonstration
Students make explicit what and how they learned and what they have accomplished, for example, by sharing their CAS experience through their CAS portfolio or with others in an informal or formal manner. Through demonstration and communication, students solidify their understanding and evoke response from others.