CAS+A+How+To+Guide

=CAS ~ Your 'How To" Guide=

**Meanwhile, here is a quick over view of what is expected...**

 * 1) Block out about 3 hours a week for CAS
 * 2) Be sure to find things you LOVE
 * 3) Do something physical, something creative & something of service
 * 4) Keep a log of your activities, even if you are on the same schedule each week and can remember what you have done
 * 5) Keep a reflection journal (I'll be handing out some at the beginning of the year if you are coming in to Grade 11. If you are an incoming senior I hope you have something in place already?!)
 * 6) Think of other interesting ways to document your activities apart from your reflection journal. IF / WHEN we are asked to provide evidence of our students' CAS projects, we are expected to send in at least 12 pages/items of evidence!! Think in terms of recordings of your music; photos of your service work; flyers of races or events you have participated in; videos on "utube" ; Facebook notes to me and your friends; a visual arts portfolio of posters you have made; etc.
 * 7) Be sure to comment in your journal on how your activities drive toward these 8 learning outcomes:

 Students are required to:
     
 * Self-review at the beginning of their CAS experience and set personal goals for what they hope to achieve through their CAS programme
 * plan, do and reflect (plan activities, carry them out and reflect on what they have learned)
 * undertake at least one interim review and a final review with their CAS adviser
 * take part in a range of activities, including at least one project, some of which they have initiated themselves
 * keep records of their activities and achievements, including a list of the principal activities undertaken
 * show evidence of achievement of the eight CAS learning outcomes

Learning Outcomes
 Learning outcomes are differentiated from assessment objectives because they are not rated on a scale. The completion decision for the school in relation to each student is, simply, “Have these outcomes been achieved?” As a result of their CAS experience as a whole, including their reflections, there should be evidence that students have: > **#1 Increase awareness of own strengths and areas for growth** > Students are able to see themselves as individuals with various skills and abilities, some more developed than others, and understand that they can make choices about how they wish to move forward. > > **#2 Undertake new challenges** > A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity or extension of an existing one. > > **#3 Plan and initiate activities** > Planning and initiation will often be in collaboration with others. It can be shown in activities that are part of larger projects, for example, on-going activities in the local community, as well as in small student-led activities. > > **#4 Work collaboratively with others** > Collaboration can be shown in many different activities, such as team sports, playing 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.__ > > **#5 Show perseverance and commitment in activities** > 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. > > **#6 Engage with issues of global importance** > 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). > > **#7 Consider the ethical implications of their actions** > Ethical decisions arise in almost any CAS activity (for example, on the sports field, in musical composition, in relationships with others). Evidence of thinking about ethnical issues can be shown in various ways, including journal entries and conversations with CAS advisers. > > **#8 Develop new skills** > New skills may be shown in activities that the student has not previously undertaken, or in increased expertise in an established area. >  All eight outcomes must be present for a student to complete the CAS requirement. Some may be demonstrated many times, in a variety of activities, but completion requires only that there is some evidence for every outcome.

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. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 21px; line-height: normal;">Reflection
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Reflection needs to be developed. It should not be assumed that it comes naturally. Just as the kind of reflection that a critic applies to a work of art or literature is something that develops with time and experience, so the kind of reflection appropriate in CAS is something that requires guidance and practice.

The fundamentals are simple. Of any activity, it is appropriate to ask the following questions. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The difficulty lies in the complexity of the possible answers. **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kinds of reflection ** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What did I plan to do?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What did I do?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What were the outcomes, for me, the team I was working with, and others?

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Different kinds of reflection work for different people. Reflection can be: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> For example, in a CAS group project, the planning stages are largely public, so reflection on them can be largely public, shared and objective. The term “largely” is used because there may be individual views that arise independently, in terms of how satisfactory the process was for a particular student (who may enter and leave the activity with different personal experiences from others).
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">public or private
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">individual or shared
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">objective or subjective.

Carrying out the project is likely to be both public and private, both individual and shared, and both objective and subjective.

Outcomes of a project or other activity are similar: there may be objective successes and limitations of the activity as a whole, but what it has meant for the team and for individuals within it may be more varied.

For some students and some kinds of reflection (such as private, individual, subjective), writing is the best tool for reflection. However, for many, reflective writing does not come naturally. It can, to some extent, be “modeled” in oral discussion of more public, less sensitive matters, either as an end in itself or as a prelude to writing.

But writing is by no means the only possible outcome of reflection. Students can present their activities orally to peers, parents or outsiders. They can make scrapbooks, photo essays, videos/DVDs or weblogs. They can use journals or make up varied portfolios. Or they may sometimes simply reflect privately: some of the most important lessons may be very personal ones that students should be allowed to keep to themselves. **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Developing reflection ** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

Moving on from the “What …?” questions outlined earlier, experiential learners might consider, where appropriate, for themselves and others, and for each stage of an activity (before, during and after): <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recording and reporting ** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">how they felt
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">what they perceived
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">what they thought about the activity
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">what the activity meant to them
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">what the value of the activity was
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">what they learned from the activity and how this learning (for example, a change of perspective) might apply more widely.

Students should document their CAS activities, noting in particular their reflections upon their experiences. As previously indicated, this documentation may take many forms, including weblogs, illustrated displays and videos, and written notes. Its extent should match the significance of the particular activity to the student. While it is important to encourage students to make an early start on their CAS log, there is no point in writing lengthy accounts about relatively routine experiences.

Some of the most valuable recording and reporting happens when there is a real audience and purpose, for example, when students inform other students, parents or the wider community about what is planned or what has been achieved.

There should be consultations between each student and a CAS adviser as necessary, at least twice in year 1 and once in year 2, where the student’s progress is discussed and appropriate encouragement and advice is given. These consultations should be briefly documented on a simple CAS progress form. If any concerns arise, especially about whether a student will successfully complete the CAS requirement, these should be noted and appropriate action should be taken at the earliest opportunity.

The school will record the completion decision for each student, noting the evidence for each learning outcome. This decision is reported to the regional office, as specified in the Handbook of procedures for the Diploma Programme.

**<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Where a school is required to submit sample student CAS records to the regional office, as part of the regular monitoring process, the records required will be: ** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">
 * **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">the progress form **
 * **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">the completion form **
 * **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">up to 10 sample pages from the student’s ongoing documentation. These sample pages, which may, for example, be photocopied journal pages or printouts from electronic logs, must include a list of the principal activities undertaken and evidence of both planning and reflection. For one or more activities, it must be possible for the reader to tell what happened, why it happened, how it happened, what its value was and what the student learned from it. **

The relevant section of the IB Programme standards and practices document states that students should have opportunities to choose their own CAS activities and to undertake activities in a local and international context as appropriate **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. This means that, as far as possible, students should “own” their personal CAS programmes. With guidance from their mentors/ advisers, students should choose activities for themselves, initiating new ones where appropriate ** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">.