Creativity, activity, service

Creativity, activity, service (CAS) is one of the three essential elements that every student must complete as part of the Diploma Programme (DP).

Studied throughout the Diploma Programme, CAS involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies.

It is not formally assessed. However, students reflect on their CAS experiences as part of the DP, and provide evidence of achieving the seven learning outcomes for CAS.

How is CAS structured? 

The three strands of CAS, which are often interwoven with particular activities, are characterized as follows:

• Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.

• Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP.

• 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.

In order to demonstrate these concepts, students are required to undertake a CAS Project. The project challenges students to:

• show initiative

• demonstrate perseverance

• develop skills such as collaboration, problem solving and decision making.

What is the significance of CAS?

CAS enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience.

It provides opportunities for self-determination and collaboration with others, fostering a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from their work.

At the same time, CAS is an important counterbalance to the academic pressures of the DP.

Extended Essay

The extended essay is a required component of the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP). 

It is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.

What is the significance of the extended essay?

The extended essay provides:

• practical preparation for undergraduate research

• an opportunity for students to investigate a topic of special interest to them, which is also related to one of the student's six DP subjects. 

Through the research process for the extended essay, students develop skills in:

• formulating an appropriate research question

• engaging in a personal exploration of the topic

• communicating ideas

• developing an argument. 

Participation in this process develops the capacity to analyse, synthesize and evaluate knowledge.

An extended essay can also be undertaken in world studies, where students carry out an in-depth interdisciplinary study of an issue of contemporary global significance, across two IB diploma disciplines.

How is study of the extended essay structured?

Students are supported throughout the process of researching and writing the extended essay, with advice and guidance from a supervisor who is usually a teacher at the school.

Students are required to have three mandatory reflection sessions with their supervisors. The final session, a concluding interview, is also known as viva voce.

The extended essay and reflection sessions can be a valuable stimulus for discussion in countries where interviews are required prior to acceptance for employment or for a place at university.

Theory of Knowledge

Theory of knowledge (TOK) plays a special role in the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) by providing an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.  TOK is a half-year course for Diploma Candidates in Year 1 and Year 2.

It is one of the components of the DP core and is mandatory for all students. The TOK requirement is central to the educational philosophy of the DP.

How is TOK structured?

As a thoughtful and purposeful inquiry into different ways of knowing and into different kinds of knowledge, TOK is composed almost entirely of questions.

The most central of these is "How do we know?" while other questions include:

• What counts as evidence for X?

• How do we judge which is the best model of Y?

• What does theory Z mean in the real world?

Through discussions of these and other questions, students gain greater awareness of their personal and ideological assumptions and develop an appreciation of the diversity and richness of cultural perspectives.