The CAS coordinator assists students in understanding what may or may not be a CAS experience. There are four guidelines that should be applied to any proposed CAS experience.

A CAS experience must:

• Fit within one or more of the CAS strands

• Be based on personal interest, skill, talent, or opportunity for growth

• ​Provide opportunities to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile

• Not be used or included in the student’s Diploma course requirements

To further assist students in deciding on a CAS experience, the following questions
may be useful for students to consider.

Answer these questions as you consider as you think about an activity in terms of using it for a CAS Experience -

• Will the experience be enjoyable?

• Does the experience allow for the development of personal interests, skills, and/or talents?

• What new possibilities or challenges could the experience provide?

• What might be the possible consequences of your CAS experience for you, others, and the environment?

• Which CAS learning outcomes may be addressed?

The CAS Stages

The CAS stages (adapted from Cathryn Berger Kaye’s “five stages of service learning”, 2010) provides the framework for students to consider make plans for, carry out, and reflect on their CAS experiences/projects.

The five CAS stages are as follows:

1. Investigation – Identifying interests, skills, and talents to potentially use for CAS experiences/projects and areas for personal growth and development.

2. Preparation – Determining roles, responsibilities, necessary resources, and an action plan.

3. Action – Implementation of the idea or plan to meet the CAS experience/project

4. Reflection – Describing what happened, expressing feelings, formulating ideas, and making connections.

5. Demonstration – Make it clearly known what was learned and accomplished.

HOW TO DETERMINE IF AN EXPERIENCE IS CAS?

• Fits in one or more strands

• Is based on interests or skills

• Gives an opportunity to develop the IB learner profile attributes - inquirer, knowledgeable, thinker, communicator, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-taker, balanced, reflective

• Is Enjoyable

• Allows reflection and growth

• Allows learning outcome(s) to be addressed

• Is part of the student academic programme

• Is mundane, repetitive

• Is part of a religious devotion or involves proselytizing

• Is passive, such as visits to museums or the theatre unless relevant to a project

• Has anything to do with the family, the holidays (except for organized courses, guided trekking)

• Is raising money with no particular aim

• Could cause friction between community groups

• Is working in an old people’s or children’s home and the student has no idea of how the home operates and no contact at all with the elderly residents or children

• Actually does not provide service for other people