WELCOME

This is a unique section of the tutoring website that aims to give you guys a look into the things that our MYP teachers really should have taught us before entering grade 11 (perhaps even back in grade 7).

Here in the DP program, there are several newer “subjects” or activities called the “Core Subjects” that you are expected to do in order to pass. These include CAS (creativity, activity, service and project), Theory of Knowledge, and the Extended Essay.

TOK and EE are an essential part of your final DP score. In the two subjects, your grade can range from A to E. Scoring an E in either subject will result in you not getting your diploma. In other words, you will fail DP. Furthermore, the two subjects combined account for 3 points (max. is 45). This means that these two subjects can help raise your final grade if you didn’t score that well on your other subjects. University admissions set a certain grade as the minimum requirement for you to be accepted.

Starting off with the CAS experience, this is an IB requirement even though at first glance it does not have the conventional grading standards of other subjects. “CAS experiences” are a form of self-commitment actions that you will undergo throughout your DP course. There are 3 main categories: Creativity, Action, and Service (with Project as one of the side categories).

The CAS activity is relatively simple to do and does not require as much effort as you might initially think. In our honest opinion, it is simply a test of endurance and commitment. Always document, record, take pictures, collect evidence, and make reflections.

Your CAS experience involves you committing to a certain activity for at least 36 hours.

The first step is to determine your activity type.

Creativity mainly focuses on your creative talents, innovation making, artistic desires, and much more. Activity is centered around yourself improving a certain skill ranging from physical activities, fitness, niche activities (such as archery if you’re into it), and other quality of life activities (such as cooking). Lastly is the Service experience, where you just need to show that you are doing something that is in the service of other people or to the community.

The next step is to investigate what actions are personal, simple, and are related to the activity types.

As an example, maybe you were planning on joining a martial arts club/program when you enter DP. Then you can use this chance of your own personal desire (to just learn martial arts) and use it as your CAS experience for activity. Another example could be about some skill that you have yet to learn. Let’s say that you have never dabbled in photography seriously, only using it for the occasional selfies and whenever other people ask for your help. Your creativity action could be you learning the more complicated techniques of photography (learn about composition, framing, lighting, etc.) and increase your non-academic skills. And services can be as simple as helping out in your neighborhood to tutoring other people in your school—which is what we’re aiming to do.

Remember, your activities/action plans must show personal growth or development. This means that you can’t use activities/skills that you already have experience in for your CAS. So for example, if you are already an expert in playing the piano then you can’t use that for your creative experience.

You should always constantly think about how the experience will help you develop as a student non-academically.

This is a unique CAS experience in that it is the only experience to be done in a group. The group can consist of entire classes or even the whole grade if you choose to. Your activity will then be related to at least one (or more) other activity types. Say, you choose a CAS project focused on poverty, with the central plan being that you will donate and cook for homeless people as a collective group.

Why should I think about the CAS now?

You will be introduced to the CAS program in more detail when you enter grade 11, however, we believe that you would have an easier time in grade 11 if you already know what you are going to do for your CAS experiences. Plan your experiences (and have backup plans) so that you can start your CAS experiences efficiently by having a rough road map for grade 11.

Why should I care about CAS?

Although it doesn’t affect your final DP grades like your TOKs or your EEs, the CAS experience is still an integral and required part of the DP program. It is something that you must do in order to get your diploma.

What else should I be prepared for?

Be prepared for extensive evidence collection, recordings, and reflections. Reflection and evidence are an essential part of the CAS experiences and will determine whether or not your activity will be approved at the end of your prescribed activity time period.

This is why you should always be ready to record your progress. Whether it be an audio log made by trusted experts/third parties, simple photo evidence of your actions, a tangible final product, anything that can be used as evidence of your progress and growth throughout the project.

TOK is your epistemology course. In other words, it is a subject where you reflect on the nature of knowledge, and how we know what we claim to know—this is also known as the class where you practice extending a 5-word sentence into an essay. The TOK syllabus is divided into three main elements, namely:

the Core Theme: Knowledge and the Knower;

the Optional Themes (you will only have to study 2);

Knowledge and technology

Knowledge and language

Knowledge and politics

Knowledge and religion

Knowledge and indigenous societies

and the Areas of Knowledge (you are required to study all).

History

The human sciences

The natural sciences

The arts

Mathematics

Be specific, direct, and focused. Despite the roundabout, vague, and rather unclear nature of TOK in general, your essays and exhibitions should always be focused. Be sure to answer your IO prompts and questions throughout your essays. Be concise in your delivery, take the time to improve your essay writing skills and read more literature and improve your vocabulary to shorten or lengthen your writings.

The goal of this assessment is to essentially prove that the knowledge you gained in this subject can be applied in real contexts, the real world. For this assessment, you are required to, in 950 words,

• select a question from a list of 35 prompts given by the IB and

• select 3 real-world objects and discuss how the objects answer the question.

You will be assessed on the ability to explain the object in its real-world context, link the object to the prompt, and justify (provide evidence) for your discussion.

Personally, we haven’t gotten this far but according to our experiences, it would involve talking about how knowledge is related to some real-world context. Perhaps we would delve deeper into specific contexts and situations in relation to other very specific subjects and areas of knowledge.