Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS)
Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) is at the heart of the DP. CAS enables students to live out the IB learner profile in real and practical ways, to grow as unique individuals and to recognize their role in relation to others. Students develop skills, attitudes and dispositions through a variety of individual and group experiences that provide students opportunities to explore their interests and express their passions, personalities and perspectives. CAS complements a challenging academic programme in a holistic way, providing opportunities for self-determination, collaboration, accomplishment and enjoyment.
The three strands of CAS are:
• 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.
Successful completion of CAS is a requirement for the award of the IB Diploma. While not formally assessed, students reflect on their CAS experiences and provide evidence in their CAS portfolios of achieving the seven learning outcomes.
The CAS programme formally begins at the start of the Diploma Programme and continues regularly, ideally on a weekly basis, for at least 18 months with a reasonable balance between creativity, activity and service.
All CAS students are expected to maintain and complete a CAS portfolio as evidence of their engagement with CAS. The CAS portfolio is a collection of evidence that showcases CAS experiences and for student reflections; it is not formally assessed.
Completion of CAS is based on student achievement of the seven CAS learning outcomes. Through their CAS portfolio, students provide the school with evidence demonstrating achievement of each learning outcome. Students engage in CAS experiences involving one or more of the three CAS strands.
A CAS experience can be a single event or may be an extended series of events.
Further, students undertake a CAS project of at least one month’s duration that challenges students to show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and develop skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making. The CAS project can address any single strand of CAS, or combine two or all three strands.
Students use the CAS stages (investigation, preparation, action, reflection and demonstration) as a framework for CAS experiences and the CAS project.
There are three formal documented interviews students must have with their CAS coordinator/adviser. The first interview is at the beginning of the CAS programme, the second at the end of the first year, and the third interview is at the end of the CAS programme.
CAS emphasizes reflection which is central to building a deep and rich experience in CAS. Reflection informs students’ learning and growth by allowing students to explore ideas, skills, strengths, limitations and areas for further development and consider how they may use prior learning in new contexts.
Typically, a student’s CAS programme combines planned/unplanned singular and ongoing experiences. All are valuable and may lead to personal development. However, a meaningful CAS programme must be more than unplanned/singular experiences. A series of planned CAS experiences are recommended for a more engaging CAS programme.
CAS experiences may incorporate one or more of the CAS strands. For example:
• Going for a mountain hike could be a singular experience within the “Activity” strand.
• A student plans a number of visits to a nursing home resulting in a series of CAS experiences within the “Service” strand.
• A group of students plan and stage a basketball tournament for the local community, resulting in a series of CAS experiences involving the strands of “Activity” and “Service”.
CAS Advisors educate students and guide them through from the first step to the last step to achieve personal and school goals in Creativity, Activity, and Service.