EIS/GESM CAS programme gets high praise from IBO

See the Typhon Relief Activity on the German Official PASCH-Website

Building bridges DIHK-award-winning project

The emphasis of CAS is on experiential learning, designed to involve you in new roles.

Creativity: Arts, and other experiences that involve creative or innovative thinking (which includes playing a musical instrument or learning an exotic language).

Action: Physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the Diploma Programme (which includes playing an active part in sports competitions).

Service: An unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student (which includes social interaction with underprivileged people and tutoring). The rights, dignity and autonomy of all those involved are respected.

At our school, the Service part is considered the most important.

The most meaningful CAS experience comes from spending time with others to build relationships and develop the self-worth of both server and served. The emphasis of CAS is on learning by doing real tasks that have real consequences and then reflecting on these experiences over time.

The Eight Learning Outcomes
As a result of your CAS experience, there should be evidence that you have:

1. Increased your awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth
   They 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. Undertaken new challenges
   A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity, or an extension to an existing one.
3. Planned and initiated 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, ongoing school activities in the local community, as well as in small student-led activities.
4. Worked collaboratively with others
   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.
5. Shown perseverance and commitment in your 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. Engaged 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. Considered the ethical implications of your actions
   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.
8. Developed new skills
   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.

All eight outcomes must be present for you to complete the CAS requirement. Some may be demonstrated many times, in a variety of activities, but completion requires only that there is evidence for every outcome.

There should also be evidence that you have reflected on your activities.

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?”

Requirements
You are expected to be involved the equivalent of one SL course  (= 150 hours) over the two DP years in either a balanced range of different activities or several long term projects.

You are required to:

• Submit a self-review at the beginning of your CAS experience (1st year, in September) where you set personal goals for what you
  hope to achieve through your CAS programme


• Plan, do and reflect (plan activities, carry them out and reflect on what you have learned)

• Submit at least one interim review (end of 1st year) and
  a final review (end of 2nd year)

• Take part in a range of activities, including at least one project which you have initiated yourself

• Keep records of your activities and achievements


• CAS log (diary-style and/or list-style overview of all your activities and general reflections on your CAS experience, you may use the form provided by the school or design your own)
• CAS activity form (detailed description of each major activity, please use the form provided by the school)

• Show evidence of achievement of the eight CAS learning outcomes (please use the CAS activity form for this purpose)

• Templates for your CAS log and the CAS activity form are available on our school server. You may then upload the updated versions of your personal CAS log and CAS activity form to our school server (visible to all) or you can e-mail them to your CAS coordinator on a regular basis.

Christoph Grandt
CAS-Coordinator
cgrandt@gesm.org