IBEC CAS Program 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which CAS learning outcome is MOST directly addressed when a student learns to use video-editing software to produce a documentary for a community organization?
- LO4 – Show commitment and perseverance
- LO2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process (Correct answer)
- LO6 – Demonstrate engagement with global significance
- LO7 – Recognize the ethics of choices and actions
Correct answer: LO2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Acquiring a new technical skill (video editing) in service of a real purpose clearly demonstrates LO2 — undertaking challenges and developing new skills.
Question 2: When a student reflects on a CAS activity, which level of reflection is considered DEEPEST and most valued by IB?
- Describing what happened during the activity
- Evaluating personal growth, changed perspectives, and future intentions (Correct answer)
- Listing the number of hours spent on the activity
- Reporting the feedback received from supervisors
Correct answer: Evaluating personal growth, changed perspectives, and future intentions
Deep reflection involves critical self-evaluation, insight into changed perspectives, and forward-looking commitments rather than surface description.
Question 3: A student performs in a school theater production that is entirely student-organized. Under which CAS strand does this PRIMARILY fall?
- Service
- Activity
- Creativity (Correct answer)
- CAS Project
Correct answer: Creativity
Theater performance involves creative expression, placing it primarily under the Creativity strand.
Question 4: What is the role of a CAS advisor or supervisor (as distinct from the CAS coordinator)?
- Overseeing the entire school CAS program and IB compliance
- Acting as a direct point of contact for individual students, verifying experiences and guiding reflection (Correct answer)
- Assigning grades for individual CAS activities
- Submitting official CAS documentation to the IB on behalf of students
Correct answer: Acting as a direct point of contact for individual students, verifying experiences and guiding reflection
An advisor or supervisor works directly with individual students to verify participation, guide reflection, and provide feedback on specific activities.
Question 5: Which scenario BEST illustrates the concept of 'reciprocity' in a CAS Service experience?
- A student teaches English to elderly community members and also learns about their cultural history in return (Correct answer)
- A student completes a service project and receives a certificate of participation
- A student donates money anonymously to a charity without interacting with beneficiaries
- A student logs service hours to satisfy the CAS requirement
Correct answer: A student teaches English to elderly community members and also learns about their cultural history in return
Reciprocity means both parties benefit and learn from each other, as when the student both teaches and gains cultural knowledge.
Question 6: According to IB CAS guidelines, how often should students ideally engage in reflective activities?
- Only at the beginning and end of the two-year program
- Regularly and continuously throughout the program, not just at fixed checkpoints (Correct answer)
- Once per semester as a formal written assignment
- Only when the CAS coordinator requests it
Correct answer: Regularly and continuously throughout the program, not just at fixed checkpoints
IB expects reflection to be an ongoing habit integrated throughout all CAS experiences, not confined to formal checkpoints.
Question 7: A student claims that watching documentaries about social issues counts as a Service activity. How should the supervisor respond?
- Accept it as Service because the student is learning about community issues
- Explain that passive consumption does not constitute Service, which requires active engagement benefiting others (Correct answer)
- Reclassify it as a Creativity activity instead
- Approve it if the student writes a reflection afterward
Correct answer: Explain that passive consumption does not constitute Service, which requires active engagement benefiting others
Service requires active, direct engagement and real benefit to others — passive learning activities like watching films do not qualify.
IBEC CAS Program 4
Which CAS learning outcome is MOST directly addressed when a student learns to use video-editing software to produce a documentary for a community organization?