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If you're wondering what's the difference between the CAS Project and CAS experiences, you've come to the right place. In this post, we will compare the two, providing you with the necessary information to embark on your CAS journey with confidence.
CAS Project vs Experience
CAS Experiences are short-term or ongoing activities that students undertake, focusing on the three strands of CAS – Creativity, Activity, and Service. These experiences are often smaller and more regular. For creativity, students may for instance learn how to cook; for activity, take up a new sport; and for creativity, for instance, learn to play a new instrument.
The CAS Project on the other hand is a larger, more structured endeavour that students must complete in a group. The CAS Project requires in-depth planning and preparation. Students might, for example, decide to organize a school basketball tournament with an entry fee, the proceeds of which would be used to set up a soup kitchen initiative for those in need.
Quantity
CAS Project: Students must only complete one CAS Project.
CAS Experiences: The IB does not set a minimum number of Experiences that students must complete. Ultimately, the school's CAS supervisor is responsible for assessing students' CAS. However, it is generally recommended that students complete at least four different Experiences for each strand.
Duration
CAS Project: The CAS Project must last at least 4 weeks. In those 4 weeks students must fulfil all CAS Project Stages.
CAS Experiences: On the other hand, there is no set duration for CAS Experiences. As mentioned, the IB gives quite a lot of freedom to the school's CAS Coordinator to manage and assess the CAS Project and therefore it is up to them to decide on the duration of CAS. Some schools may require students to fulfill a certain amount of hours dedicated to CAS experiences while other may require a certain amount of months during which students are engaged in CAS experiences. Whichever method of your school uses, remember that there should be no gaps in your CAS timeline - at any given point of the duration of CAS there should always be at least one ongoing experience
Reflections and evidence
CAS Project: A minimum of three reflections and pieces of evidence is required for the CAS Project. Students are however encouraged to include more.
CAS Experiences: For CAS Experiences which last for a longer period of time a minimum of three reflections and pieces of evidence are advised (one at the beginning, one mid-point, and a final one at the end). For CAS experiences that are brief, single events, one reflection, and one piece of evidence are sufficient.
CAS Strands
Both for the Project and Experiences, students are not required to cover all three CAS strands at once. A CAS Project or Experience can focus on one, two, or all strands. However, students must engage with each strand at least once over the course of their CAS journey.
Deadline
Both the CAS Project and Experiences do not have an official deadline. It is the school's CAS Coordinator that decides on the internal deadline by which the CAS Project and CAS Experiences must be complete. For more information on the CAS Project completion date, check out our CAS Deadline post.
Learning Outcomes
Both the CAS Project and CAS Experiences does not have to fulfill every Learning Outcome. Students must however achieve each Learning Outcome at least once throughout their CAS journey. For more information on the CAS LEarning outcomes, check out our other post.
We hope you found this post helpful. Be sure to check out our blog post for a wide array of IB CAS Project ideas and CAS Experiences ideas. For more useful materials associated with the IB check out the wide variety of IA, EE and TOK exemplars available at Clastify.
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