Creativity, Activity, Service – CAS – is a pass or fail requirement of the IB, which allows students to become well-rounded individuals. It’s important to not see CAS as another task on your to-do list or a chore. It’s your chance in the IB to showcase your passions, help your community and enjoy some of your hobbies! CAS has 7 learning outcomes, all of which must be met by the end of your eighteen months of CAS.
An effective strategy for CAS (that I also use) is figuring out what I already do for CAS, what I can do, and being consistent. This can look like:
Asking yourself; what do you already do for CAS?
At the start of CAS, write down what you already do that can count for CAS, such as a sport you participate in, a hobby you enjoy or volunteer work you do.
Asking yourself; what else can you do for CAS?
Think of ways in which you can modify your hobbies to become experiences – for example, I love baking, so now I bake one new recipe per week. Also, look into volunteering either in your local community or school, to reach those global engagement requirements.
Can’t think of more experiences? Fellow IB students have your back!
If you’re falling short of ideas, the internet is your best friend! Search ‘CAS ideas’ and many articles full of ideas from fellow IB students are readily available – as well as on our IBlieve blog.
Compare against 7 learning outcomes
Note down the learning outcomes and check your experience ideas against them. From here, you’ll be able to see what outcomes you still need to find experiences for.
Create a CAS schedule
Create a schedule (either in your head or on a calendar) of these existing and new experiences – how often do you do them?
Set an initial goal
I recommend starting with an initial goal of 3 experiences for each CAS strand and a CAS Project. So think of how many ideas you have so far.
Writing Reflections Habit
Get into a habit of writing your CAS reflections. I know from first-hand experience how you can start CAS very up-to-date, writing reflections the day of or weekend after, but then not making it a priority and having a pile-up of reflections to complete. Schedule a time every week or week-end, where you write reflections for CAS you’ve completed, and trust me, it’s much better than spending days solely writing reflections.
Complete the CAS questions for each experience
I complete these at about the halfway point of my experiences, so that it’s not all left until the end but I’ll also look-over these at the end of CAS to see if I need to modify them.
I hope that this helps you to strategise and make the most of your CAS journey!
You may also like…
- Maryelleryan’s take on the importance of CAS
- Anoushka’s CAS project idea: podcasts