Creativity, Action, Service (cas)
IB courses strongly emphasize analytical and critical thinking skills. As a culminating experience, students complete a 4,000 word Extended Essay on a topic of their choice and achieve the 8 learning outcomes of Creativity, Action, and Service (CAS). CAS enables students to reach out to the community through activities, service, and personal involvement. After successful completion of internal and external assessments, students earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma, which earns them college credit at most universities.
Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) compliments the academic disciplines and counter-balances academics. CAS is not only the hours served in each of the three areas but also a recognition of how students grow and change through participation in various kinds of activities. Students participate in a range of activities alongside their academic studies, and take on different roles as they participate.
Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) compliments the academic disciplines and counter-balances academics. CAS is not only the hours served in each of the three areas but also a recognition of how students grow and change through participation in various kinds of activities. Students participate in a range of activities alongside their academic studies, and take on different roles as they participate.
requirements for cas
- Meet the requirements for creativity, action and service
- Complete a CAS project
- Attain all 8 learning outcomes
- Document all CAS activities
- Complete 10 reflections
Learning outcomes
- Increased awareness of strengths and areas for growth- Students are able to see themselves as individuals with various skills and abilities, some more developed than others, and understand that they can make choices about how they wish to move forward.
- Undertaking new challenges - A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity, or an extension to an existing one.
- Planned and initiated activities - Planning and initiation will often be in collaboration with others. It can be shown in activities that are part of larger projects, for example, ongoing school activities in the local community, as well as in small student‐led activities.
- Working collaboratively with others - Collaboration can be shown in many different activities, such as team sports, playing music in a band, or helping in a kindergarten. At least one project, involving collaboration and the integration of at least two of creativity, action and service, is required.
- Showing perseverance and commitment - At a minimum, this implies attending regularly and accepting a share of the responsibility for dealing with problems that arise in the course of activities.
- Engaged with issues of global importance - Students may be involved in international projects but there are many global issues that can be acted upon locally or nationally (for example, environmental concerns, caring for the elderly).
- Consideration of ethical implications - Ethical decisions arise in almost any CAS activity (for example, on the sports field, in musical composition, in relationships with others involved in service activities). Evidence of thinking about ethical issues can be shown in various ways, including journal entries and conversations with CAS advisers.
- Developing new skills - As with new challenges, new skills may be shown in activities that the student has not previously undertaken, or in increased expertise in an established area.