CAS Stages

CAS Sta­ges

The CAS sta­ges rep­re­sent a pro­cess and se­qu­en­ce that can as­sist stu­dents in many as­pects of their life. They fol­low a pro­cess whe­re­by they in­ves­ti­ga­te an in­te­rest that of­ten rai­ses qu­es­ti­ons and cu­ri­o­si­ty, pre­pa­re by le­ar­ning more, take some form of ac­ti­on, ref­lect on what they have done along the way, and de­monst­ra­te their un­ders­tan­dings and the pro­cess. By app­lying the­se sta­ges to CAS, stu­dents have a re­li­ab­le yet fle­xib­le struc­tu­re they can then app­ly to fu­tu­re si­tu­a­ti­ons with con­fi­den­ce.

The five CAS sta­ges are as fol­lows.

1. In­ves­ti­ga­ti­on: Stu­dents iden­ti­fy their in­te­rests, skills and ta­lents to be used in con­si­de­ring op­por­tu­ni­ties for CAS ex­pe­rien­ces, as well as are­as for per­so­nal growth and de­ve­lop­ment. Stu­dents in­ves­ti­ga­te what they want to do and de­ter­mi­ne the pur­po­se for their CAS ex­pe­rien­ce. In the case of ser­vi­ce, stu­dents iden­ti­fy a need they want to add­ress.

2. Pre­pa­ra­ti­on: Stu­dents cla­ri­fy ro­les and res­pon­si­bi­li­ties, de­ve­lop a plan of ac­ti­ons to be ta­ken, iden­ti­fy spe­ci­fied re­sour­ces and ti­me­li­nes, and ac­qui­re any skills as nee­ded to en­ga­ge in the CAS ex­pe­rien­ce.

3. Ac­ti­on: Stu­dents imp­le­ment their idea or plan. This of­ten re­qui­res de­ci­si­on-ma­king and prob­lem sol­ving. Stu­dents may work in­di­vi­du­al­ly, with part­ners, or in groups.

4. Ref­lec­ti­on: Stu­dents desc­ri­be what hap­pe­ned, exp­ress fee­lings, ge­ne­ra­te ide­as, and rai­se qu­es­ti­ons. Ref­lec­ti­on can oc­cur at any time du­ring CAS to furt­her un­ders­tan­ding, to as­sist with re­vi­sing plans, to le­arn from the ex­pe­rien­ce, and to make exp­li­cit con­nec­ti­ons bet­ween their growth, ac­comp­lish­ments, and the le­ar­ning out­co­mes for per­so­nal awa­re­ness. Ref­lec­ti­on may lead to new ac­ti­on.

5. De­monst­ra­ti­on: Stu­dents make exp­li­cit what and how they le­ar­ned and what they have ac­comp­lis­hed, for examp­le, by sha­ring their CAS ex­pe­rien­ce through their CAS port­fo­lio or with ot­hers in an in­for­mal or for­mal man­ner. Through de­monst­ra­ti­on and com­mu­ni­ca­ti­on, stu­dents so­li­di­fy their un­ders­tan­ding and evo­ke res­pon­se from ot­hers.

The CAS sta­ges pro­vi­de a fra­me­work that enab­les stu­dents to:

• inc­re­a­se self-awa­re­ness
• le­arn about le­ar­ning
• exp­lo­re new and un­fa­mi­li­ar chal­len­ges
• emp­loy dif­fe­rent le­ar­ning sty­les
• de­ve­lop their abi­li­ty to com­mu­ni­ca­te and col­la­bo­ra­te with ot­hers
• ex­pe­rien­ce and re­cog­ni­ze per­so­nal de­ve­lop­ment
• de­ve­lop att­ri­bu­tes of the IB le­ar­ner pro­fi­le.