My Interpretation of CAS

I was asked the other day how to motivate students to complete their CAS activities. My reply to this CAS Coordinator (who is more awesome than she knows) was to make sure your students understand the importance and meaning of CAS. The following is my own interpretation of CAS and it won’t be found anywhere in an IB document, but this is what I tell my students. And I explain it in the order that makes sense to me: Creativity, Service, Action: CSA

 

Creativity

Creativity is what made the first caveman turn a rock into a wheel. Creativity isn’t just poetry, singing, dancing, art, or writing. Although these endeavors bring beauty and meaning to our lives, creativity is much more. It’s innovation, it’s progress, it’s new discoveries, new inventions. It’s the advancements in medicine that kept my dad alive for many years longer than he should’ve lived through his battle with cancer. It’s the iPad in my hands as I type this post. Creativity is certainly being involved in the Arts, but it’s also a better life in a better world through different thinking, new thinking, new ideas.

 

Service

But this creativity would all be for nothing if we didn’t use it to serve and assist our fellow man. Creativity and progress doesn’t do anyone any good if its foundation is not born from a desire to help each other, to make someone else’s life better and more enjoyable. The majority of us will not serve in big ways and change the world, but all of us can serve in some way, even small ways, by using our time and talents to change the world for someone. CAS is at the heart of the IB program, and service is at the heart of CAS. We need to keep creating and using our creativity to serve our community and the world at large as best we can. 

 

Action

But if we don’t stay healthy then we can’t maximize our creativity or our service to others. Our lives may even be cut short. There are many health issues not in our control, but staying active and exercising the only body we will ever have is one small area of health that is in our control. Brain research tells us our bodies need physical exertion to keep the brain AND body healthy, so exercise has a two-fold benefit. Remember this: Move more, eat less. 

 

This is why IB wants students, our future adults, to physically exert themselves. I like to think that IB boiled down the three most vital elements of being a responsible member of this world to these three elements: Creativity, Action, and Service: CAS. Or as I like to call them: CSA.

 

And remember: Move more, eat less.

Learning Outcome #6 Questions

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about Learning Outcome #6 (Engaged with issues of global importance) which the CAS Guide defines as: Students may be involved in international projects but there are many global issues that can be acted upon locally or nationally (for example, environmental concerns, caring for the elderly).

Lot’s of people have been asking me how caring for the elderly can be considered a global activity, and my answer is: I don’t know. For my students here in the USA it would not be considered a global activity, but perhaps somewhere else it could be. I guess the IBO knows of enough instances where caring for the elderly can be considered a global activity, but this doesn’t mean it will count as a global activity for all IB students.

There are many gray areas when it comes to CAS activities; what counts for one student may not count for another. This is why the CAS Coordinator plays such an important role.

For definitive answers to questions like this, I suggest you login to the OCC (Online Curriculum Centre) and ask the IB experts there. Maria and Michael are CAS experts and will give you friendly, helpful direction

Looking For CAS Ideas?

There are 5 new links on the ideas page. Look for the “New” to spot them quickly. Hopefully you’ll find something useful to share.

Do Students Still Need to Complete 150 CAS Hours?

No and yes.

IBO wants your students to come close to earning 150 hours but they don’t want students to focus on earning hours but rather on completing the 8 Learning Outcomes.

This is from page 6 of the New CAS Curriculum that went into effect in 2010:

“This focus on learning outcomes emphasizes that it is the quality of a CAS activity (its contribution to the student’s development) that is of most importance. The guideline for the minimum amount of CAS activity is approximately the equivalent of half a day per school week (three to four hours per week), or approximately 150 hours in total, with a reasonable balance between creativity, action and service. “Hour counting”, however, is not encouraged.”

The way I understand this is that IBO still wants students to earn about 150 hours with an equal balance of hours spread between the categories of Creativity, Action, and Service, but they do not want hour counting to be the goal. This means CAS Coordinators have a lot of leeway when it comes to the number of hours students complete.

The main focus for students (and therefore CAS Coordinators) is completing significant, meaningful activities that will allow students to meet the 8 Learning Outcomes.

Where Good Ideas Come From

Learning Outcome #8

The focus of IB students and their CAS activities is to meet the 8 Learning Outcomes at least once.

Learning Outcome #8 is stated as: Developed new skills.

Clarifying explanation: As with new challenges, new skills may be shown in activities that the student has not previously undertaken, or in increased expertise in an established area.

I interpret Learning Outcome #8 as “Students need to engage in an activity in which they’ve never before participated in and in which they will learn something new, either about themselves or about someone or something else.”

Learning Outcome #7

The focus of IB students and their CAS activities is to meet the 8 Learning Outcomes at least once.

Learning Outcome #7 is stated as: Considered the ethical implications of their actions.

Clarifying explanation: Ethical decisions arise in almost any CAS activity (for example, on the sports field, in musical composition, in relationships with others involved in service activities). Evidence of thinking about ethical issues can be shown in various ways, including journal entries and conversations with CAS advisers.

I interpret Learning Outcome #7 as “This is the most difficult learning outcome to achieve because it’s the most difficult to interpret, measure, and plan for. Students need to evaluate right from wrong in an activity that they’re engaged in and this is not easy to do. I agree that students need to be able to choose right actions from wrong actions and be able to determine if another person’s actions are right or wrong, but this is not easy to plan for. I’m not very much help when students ask me how to achieve this outcome because I don’t know how to help them plan for this. Maybe IBO could reconsider this learning outcome or at least the wording of it.”

Learning Outcome #6

The focus of IB students and their CAS activities is to meet the 8 Learning Outcomes at least once.

Learning Outcome #6 is stated as: Engaged with issues of global importance.

Clarifying explanation: Students may be involved in international projects but there are many global issues that can be acted upon locally or nationally (for example, environmental concerns, caring for the elderly).

I interpret Learning Outcome #6 as “it would be best if students could broaden their worlds by engaging in activities that focus on other parts of the globe, but it’s also ok if students focus on activities that are an issue in any part of the world, such as environmental concerns or caring for the elderly.”

Learning Outcome #5

The focus of IB students and their CAS activities is to meet the 8 Learning Outcomes at least once.

Learning Outcome #5 is stated as: Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities.

Clarifying explanation: At a minimum, this implies attending regularly and accepting a share of the responsibility for dealing with problems that arise in the course of activities.

I interpret Learning Outcome #5 as “engaging in an activity that most likely lasts several months and requires true leadership, not just participation.”

Learning Outcome #4

The focus of IB students and their CAS activities is to meet the 8 Learning Outcomes at least once.

Learning Outcome #4 is stated as: Worked collaboratively with others.

Clarifying explanation: Collaboration can be shown in many different activities, such as team sports, playing music in a band, or helping in a kindergarten. At least one project, involving collaboration and the integration of at least two of creativity, action and service, is required.

I interpret Learning Outcome #4 as “students need to get involved in an activity where they are forced to work closely with other students (non IB students are ok), and the activity needs to include at least 2 of the 3 categories of Creativity, Action, and Service.”

This Learning Outcome also should be of significant duration, meaning it should last at least a few months at a minimum.