Shining a Spotlight on the Significance of Service Learning at GNS—Part 5

February 13, 2025

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Angie Girard, IB Diploma Coordinator photo

At Glenlyon Norfolk School, our students are expected to participate in service learning. But why is this such an integral part of the student experience at GNS?

As an International Baccalaureate school, our educational programme values service by centring it in age and stage-appropriate ways at all grade levels. In addition, service experiences contribute to the substantive experiential learning requirement for the Dogwood Diploma, the graduation certificate for students in BC.

In a six-part series, we are exploring service learning, and its many facets at GNS, through interviews with teachers, leaders, and students of our Senior School. This part looks at how Service Learning is framed by the International Baccalaureate program.

CAS: Creativity, Activity, and Service

At the heart of the IB Diploma Programme lie three elements that make the programme unique in the world: the Theory of Knowledge course, the Extended Essay and CAS. In this article, we will focus on CAS.

CAS has played an integral role in the IB Diploma Programme since its beginnings in 1968. From its early days, the International Baccalaureate Organisation recognized the importance of maintaining balance in one’s life—that pouring all of one’s effort into the academic basket was not the best way to support our socio-emotional and physical well-being. Although aspects of the IB Diploma Programme have changed over the past 57 years, CAS has remained at the heart of the programme.

CAS, or Creativity, Activity and Service, provides a framework for an IB Diploma Candidate’s co-curricular involvement. As part of the Diploma Programme, students not only reap the benefits of breadth and depth within their six academic courses but also within their CAS Portfolios.

Before we dive in, we thought it would be helpful to share the most frequently used CAS terminology.

CAS Terminology:

Advisor: a teacher who supports a small group of students throughout their CAS journey

Coordinator: the person who liaises between the school and IB and who oversees the CAS Programme at the school and supports CAS Advisors and Diploma Candidates

Evidence: used to support students’ experiences in their CAS Portfolio in ManageBac—evidence may take a number of different forms including photos, videoclips, links, etc…

Experience: involvement in each of the three strands – Creativity, Activity, Service (see examples in the table below)

Learning Outcome: there are 7 learning outcomes that students must meet at least once in a meaningful way over the 18 months

Portfolio: an online record of all aspects of CAS including experiences, the project, reflections, evidence, supervisor reviews

Programme: the area of the IB Diploma Programme that pertains to CAS and all that it entails

Project: each student must complete one collaborative CAS Project over the 18 months that links to at least one strand and has a duration of at least one month. Students will demonstrate planning and initiative during the project.

Reflection: documented personal thoughts on each experience that supports students in going beyond what they did to understand the progress and learning in their involvement—this may take many forms including anecdotal, audio, video, etc…

Stages: CAS involvement is planned in advance. To do this, students use the CAS stages (investigation, preparation, action, reflection and demonstration) as a framework for their CAS experiences and the CAS Project.

Strands: the three categories of CAS—Creativity, Activity, and Service

Supervisor: a person who can verify the students’ involvement in each experience and/or project—this could be a coach, teacher sponsor, volunteer coordinator, etc…

The CAS Programme is individualized according to students’ interests, skills, values and background. It begins at the start of the IB Diploma Programme in Year 1/Grade, and continues regularly, ideally on a weekly basis, for at least 18 months with a reasonable balance between Creativity, Activity, and Service. Completion of CAS is based on student achievement of the seven CAS learning outcomes below.

The Seven Learning Outcomes:

Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Students are asked to consider what previous involvement they have had both in and out of school prior to beginning the IB Diploma Programme. Most students find that taking part in experiences that are familiar to them and/or in which they have particular interests is a good starting point. As they begin to lean into the CAS Programme, students are encouraged to explore new experiences to round out their CAS Portfolio. This may take the form of trying a new experience or becoming involved in the community at large in addition to our school community. The most successful portfolios are planned and carried out with intention using the CAS Stages to ensure that students do not overextend themselves. Instead, they are encouraged to find experiences that are ongoing in order to be able to delve into the process and subsequent learning over time.

Examples of CAS Experiences:

Creativity: Examples include, but are not limited to: theatre, visual arts, band, choir, debate, dance, Round Square, Model UN, coaching (creative aspects), individual (music) lessons, etc…

Activity: Examples include, but are not limited to: sports team, classes at rec centre, individual pursuits such as personal workouts, yoga, martial arts, Active Living course with Ms. Hall, etc…

Service: Examples include, but are not limited to: GVPL reading/tech buddies, hospital, camp, tech/backstage, food banks, service projects, Big Brothers Big Sisters, retirement homes, etc…

CAS beyond GNS:

When applying to post-secondary institutions and scholarship programs, the transcript of grades provides admission teams with key information about each student; however, more and more institutions are also carefully considering personal profile questions, interviews, videos, and supplementals to inform their decisions. Our Diploma Candidates often refer to their CAS Portfolios to find examples of leadership, skill development, and challenges overcome that they use in their applications.

Advice from Alumni:

• Choose experiences you are interested in.

• Don’t be afraid to try something new.

• Complete your CAS Project by the end of Y1.

• Reflections are not as bad as they sound and are really helpful when you apply to university & for scholarships.

• Have fun!

Examples of CAS Projects:

• Beach clean-ups—organization & running a series

• Christmas Concert at retirement home—organized & performed

• Coaching—preparing & running drills

• Costume Loft—cleaning & reorganization

• Diploma Writing Guide—consulting teachers & creating