WHAT IS A CAS EXPERIENCE

Almost anything that you undertake could be considered a CAS Experience. It is up to your CAS Coordinators to decide if an experience is appropriate or not.

The guidelines for what does make a CAS experience are:

• It must be one, or more, of Creativity, Activity or Service.

• You should be interested in it and expect to enjoy it.

• It should provide an opportunity for growth and allow you to develop the IB Learner Profile.

• Normally you would be able to address at least one CAS Learning Outcome.

However, there are several things a CAS experience can’t be:

• It cannot be paid work. For example, if you get paid to be a lifeguard it’s not CAS.

• It cannot be part of your official IB Diploma Study. For example, if you are undertaking Film as a Group 6 subject and the film you are making will be used for the IA it is not CAS.

Of course, if the film you are making is not part of your IB Diploma assessment and its for a different purpose, it can count as CAS. You may also come across something in class which gives you a great idea to develop a CAS experience/project. For example, you might learn about pollution and undertake water testing in Biology or Environmental Systems and Societies, and this may motivate you to start a clean-up project at your local beach, river or stream.

Many of your CAS experiences may be things that you already do. Perhaps you play for a team, act in school plays, help out somewhere or are in the scouting movement? All these experiences could meet the criteria above for CAS. However, CAS also gives you the opportunity to undertake something new that you’ve always dreamed of doing. It doesn’t have to be extreme, like rock climbing, but it could be. It could be learning to sew, helping someone or promoting a cause you care about. Some examples of this are:

• Initiating a project to visit or help elderly people in your neighborhood to alleviate loneliness.

• Starting a reading club at a local primary school.

• Teaching a language class to other students.

• Promoting water saving methods in your local area.

Some CAS experiences are a series of events, like training with and being in a team, rehearsing for and performing a play, or being in a club. Some are one off events like helping at an event or undertaking a hike.

If you are continuing an activity that you already undertake you are encouraged use the CAS Stages and Learning Outcomes to look for opportunities for growth and development, as CAS is about improving and extending, not just repeating.

If you have something that you want to count as an experience and your CAS coordinator does not agree that it is suitable, then consider extending it. For example, walking your dog every day is not a suitable CAS experience; you are not showing any growth nor reaching a learning objective. However, if you extend it to training your dog and entering agility competitions or training from walking to running a 10km race it then become CAS - for you and your dog! All it takes is your imagination!

REMEMBER:

If your experiences are outside of school you will need to complete a CAS RISK FORM for each one.

By completing this form you can also tick the ETHICS OF CHOICE AND ACTIONS Learning Outcome.

This form will be added to your portfolio for evidence.

ADDING CAS DESCRIPTIONS AND GOALS

When proposing an experience, students must include the following:

1. A Description: What they plan to do and how they plan to do it.

2. A Measurable goal: the goal needs to include both quantifiable (easy to measure) aspects and personal, reflective(qualitative/intrinsic) aspects.

HOT TIP: Still looking for ideas? Explore the other pages on this website or you can use the CAS Community Resource Book for  more Ideas and places to approach. 

ADDING REFLECTIONS AND EVIDENCE

The focus of your reflection should be effective. Try to move beyond just giving a commentary of what your experiences and actions were. Talk about how you felt and how the experience will change you in the future.

A useful structure to follow might be:

• Describe what happened: retell your memorable moments, identify what was important or influential, what went well or was difficult, obstacles and successes.

• Express feelings: how do you feel about your experiences?

• Generate ideas: Re-examine the choices you made and actions you took.

• Ask questions: What questions do you have about people, processes or issues as a result of your experiences? You should also reflect on which of the Learning Outcomes you think you are achieving (or have achieved), and why. Still not sure what to write? You can use your learning outcomes as prompts to help you write e.g. This experience has been very collaborative because ... etc.

This is just one CAS Reflection example:


Tennis lessons: Some blow by blow dot points.  (Not exactly what we want)

-Over the past few weeks we focused on serving.

-We practiced first with the ball toss, and then the arm action.

-We had to do it over and over and it was boring.

-The coach just kept saying “do it again”.

-In the end I did manage to get more serves in.

Tennis lessons: A reflection.  (This is more descriptive)

My coach has been pushing me to practice more, however we just keep doing the same drills. I think we would learn faster with variety in the drills – it would become less boring. I know that in football I learnt dribbling much faster because the coach used lots of different types of drills. He also gave us a lot of feedback about what I was doing right and wrong, and this made me think more about the skills I need to  develop. However, overall I feel I am improving a lot particularly my strength and endurance.

There are also some great examples of How to Write Good Reflections here.

You simply draw four quadrants. Every quadrant represents a different angle. You think about a situation that awakens specific emotions in you (for example, a disagreement with the peers you collaborating with) and analyse yourself from four different angles.

• Say: What are some of the quotes and defining words you said in the situation?

• Do: What actions did you do and which behaviours did you notice in yourself? What is the behavioural pattern you can identify?

• Think: What were you thinking in that situation? What does this tell you about your beliefs?

• Feel: What emotions were you feeling? Why? Which past situation do they most remind you of?
  
  

You should also have a fifth quadrant, where you put all your insights and ideas. Here are some additional questions that will help you with self-reflection when you're drawing up and empathy map.

• How is the situation connected to your fears and hopes? What are your fears? What are your hopes? Which of your needs are met or not met in that situation?

• What was the environment in which you encountered the situation? What do you remember from the environment? How did you find yourself in that environment and why? What was your sight focused on?

• What hurts you most in the situation or makes you feel good about the situation?

• Is this a typical or atypical situation for you? Do you often find yourself in similar situations where you say, do, think and feel the same things?

• What was the feedback you gathered from your environment – other people?

• What are all the positives about the situation? What can you learn about yourself, others and the world by experiencing that kind of a situation?
  
  

When answering these questions, be very careful to avoid cognitive distortions and to not reinforce negative feelings. Try to go deep and identify why you feel like you do and pull yourself out of being a victim. Just observe, don't judge!

​Kos, Blaz. “Tools to Help You with Self-Reflection.” AgileLeanLife, 5 Nov. 2015, agileleanlife.com/tools-to-help-you-with-self-reflection/.

IMPORTANT

REMEMBER IF YOU ARE NOT SURE OR HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR CAS COORDINATOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. DO NOT LEAVE IT TOO LATE!