AISD

CAS How to supervise a CAS activity (Draft)

September 14, 2011

About CAS Activities

CAS is a core component of the IB diploma. To earn an IB Diploma, all students are required to successfully complete a range of activities that fall into the following areas: Creativity, Action and Service. This document is intended to provide CAS supervisors with an explanation of how CAS works and an understanding of what it means to supervise a CAS activity.

What is CAS?
CAS is Learning by Doing and Reflecting In CAS the emphasis is on learning by doing real tasks that have real consequences and then reflecting on these experiences over time. CAS is Experiential Learning Experiential learning involves much more than just doing an activity. To be truly meaningful activities should include: planning, acting, observing and reflecting.

CAS is Finding Balance CAS works best when it is enjoyable and when it functions as a counter balance to the academic pressures of the rest of the Diploma Program. CAS activity choice should reflect the students interests, passions and curiosity. 1

AISD CAS How to supervise a CAS activity (Draft)

September 14, 2011

CAS is Purposeful For student development to occur, CAS should involve: real, purposeful activities, with significant outcomes personal challengetasks must extend the student and be achievable in scope thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress, reporting reflection on outcomes and personal learning. CAS Aims (from the IB CAS Guide) CAS aims to develop students who: are reflective thinkers understand their own strengths and limitations can identify goals and devise strategies for personal growth willing to accept new challenges and roles are aware of themselves as members of communities feel responsibilities towards others and the environment are active participants in sustained, collaborative projects are balanced and enjoy and find significance in a range of activities involving intellectual, physical, creative and emotional experiences.

Supervising CAS
Supervisors Role
The role of a CAS supervisor is threefold: to help students set meaningful goals, to monitor student progress and to review student outcomes. Help students set goals Monitor progress Submit a very brief activity review How much time will this take? Supervising CAS activities should not require a significant time commitment. Only one meeting with the student is required. This is the meeting where you help the student set their goals and agree to be a supervisor. Most activities take place in your presences during sports practice, club meeting, habitat builds etc. Other activities may occur without you being there but result in tangible evidence that the activities have taken place. This may include creative work, blog posts, certificates etc. In either case, students are expected to log their activities in Managebac.com (online IB tracking website used by AISD) and show evidence of reflection and learning. Student logs are easily accessed in Managebac.com with your secure username and password. (If you need help getting onto managebac.com contact the cas coordinator cas@aisdhaka.org)

AISD CAS How to supervise a CAS activity (Draft)

September 14, 2011

When the activity is complete students will request a final review through Managebac. The review process consists of filling out a very short form on Managebac checking tic boxes and adding comments. The final review can be completed in as little as 5-10 minutes. How do I know if a students proposed activity is appropriate? CAS activities are measured against where an individual student is right now and therefore what is appropriate for one student may not be appropriate for another. Here are the guiding questions CAS students ask themselves? 1. Is the activity a new role for me? 2. Will I be in an active or passive role? 3. Is it a real task that I am going to undertake? 4. Does it have real consequences for other people and for me? 5. Do I have real goals that are specific and achievable? 6. What do I hope to learn from getting involved? 7. How can this activity benefit other people? 8. What can I reflect on during this activity? 9. Am I getting paid or receiving credit toward my other IB work It is NOT CAS if the students is: not meaningfully engaged in the activity and or the community in some way. does not find the activity personally challenging and rewarding. in a passive role. being paid. performing a family duty. getting IB credit in another class for the same work. proselytizing. What are good goals? CAS goals will vary student by student. Good CAS goals: are specific are measurable push students outside of their comfort zone push students to try something new have real consequences What about counting hours? CAS is emphatically, not about counting hours. All uses of the phrase CAS hours should be avoided. No meaningful outcomes come from counting hours. In fact, counting hours directly undermines the value of CAS because it reduces the incredible diverse range of student outcomes to a meaningless number.

AISD CAS How to supervise a CAS activity (Draft)

September 14, 2011

OK, if we dont count hours how do we know when a CAS activity is completed successfully? Measuring completion should be based on the students original goals, their reflections and their logged evidence in Managebac. Managebac should provide ample evidence of meaningful engagement over time. This may include dates and times that the activity took place, agendas from meetings, and summaries of what happened when the activity was taking place etc. If this evidence is not adequately provided the students should be instructed to provide additional evidence and the CAS coordinator should be informed. Retroactive CAS Students may not receive credit for activities that you have not agreed to supervise prior to the activity taking place. All activities must begin with setting goals in conjunction with a supervisor. Students may not ask you to be a supervisor for an activity that is already complete.