UAIS CAS & Extended Essay Parent Presentation June 7, 2012

1. UAIS CAS & Extended Essay Parent Presentation June 7, 2012

2. Tonight’s Goals/Objectives • Provide a general overview of Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) and Extended Essay (EE) • Review requirements for eligibility of the IB diploma • Explain the general roles and responsibilities of both students and parents

3. IB Diploma Hexagon

4. CAS Definition (Broad) • Creativity: arts and other experiences that involve creative expression or design • Action: physical exercise that contributes to a healthy lifestyle • Service: unpaid, voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student All three components center on experiential learning.

5. CASCommunity Service At least 150 hours Less than 75 hours Goal-oriented Hour-oriented Ongoing evaluation by interviews Single evaluation by completion Internationally-minded Locally focused Requires extended project Requires none Requires deep reflection Requires minimal or no reflection Activities demand personal challenge Activities often menial in nature Creativity and action required Only service required

6. Benefits of CAS • Emotional maturity and personal growth • Development of interviewing skills • Community networking • Career preparation • Real world experience • High quality college recommendation letters and teacher LORs

7. CAS Requirements for Graduation • At least 150 total hours of CAS • Sustained for at least 18 months • Completion of at least one extended project • Sustained reflections on managebac • Adequate balance of creativity, action, and service • Completion of five personal interviews with CAS advisor

8. CAS Requirements for Graduation • CAS is not awarded points on the traditional 45-point scale • Advisors recommended pass or fail condition • Failure renders the student automatically ineligible for the IB diploma

9. CAS Advisors (UAIS Teachers) • Conduct interviews with students • Monitor range of activities and reflections • Help students develop and alter goals • Read and respond to reflections • Verify involvement of CAS supervisors • Help troubleshoot potential issues • Make final recommendations (pass/fail) to coordinator

10. CAS Supervisors • Required for activities/projects • Provides guidance/training • Monitors attendance • Report to student’s advisor at end of activity regarding quality of student’s performance • Can be teachers or other adults in the local community, but not UAIS parents or family members

11. Managebac (uais.managebac.com) • Funded through student dues • Website storage facility for all CAS and other IB-related student information • All documentation, proposals, and reflections are virtual • Parent access coming in fall 2012

12. Extended Essay • Between 3,500-4,000 words • Subject area of choice for students • Involves university-level research • Completed outside of coursework • Represents a 40-hour commitment • Externally assessed by IBO evaluator • Training begins late fall of junior year

13. Extended Essay

14. IBO Mandate “From 2010 onwards, 28 points will be required to be eligible for the diploma if a student attains an “E” grade in either the extended essay or theory of knowledge…Attaining a grade “E” in both the extended essay and theory of knowledge continues to represent an automatic failure.” --Extended Essay Guide, 2009

15. Supervisor’s Role A UAIS teacher who: • Uses expertise in subject area to provide advice and guidance to students, for a total of four hours • Helps define research question • Aids in the research process • Reads and comments on one draft • Submits a predicted grade to the IBO

16. The UAIS EE Schedule • Process begins junior year • Topics chosen/supervisors assigned early 2013 • Research period/OU field trip is spring 2013 • Summer homework focus: CAS/EE/College • Rough draft due first week of senior year • Final draft due no later than December 2013

17. Extended Essay Process • 7/8 = Pre-Writing/Draft Phase • Student & supervisor work together to: • Explore and discuss ideas • Locate appropriate resources • Discuss readings and ideas • Develop a suitable research question • Supervisor monitors progress • Represents 35-40 hours of work per student • 1/8 = Writing Phase • Student works independently to: • Write EE draft • Revision conference drives final draft of essay • Prepare the final EE • Represents 5-10 hours of work per student

18. Academic Integrity • Ultimate responsibility lies with student • Works or ideas of others must be correctly acknowledged • Supervisor confirms that the EE the student submits is authentic work of the student • Both plagiarism and collusion—accidental or not—are forms of malpractice • Any falsified CAS document, including reflections, is grounds for malpractice

19. CAS & EE: Parent Do’s • Inquire about due dates with your child • Make the core (TOK, CAS, EE) as much a part of your school discussions as classes • Be informed and responsible about their activities • Join your child in an activity! • Support transportation requests for CAS and EE requirements • Encourage completion of full draft before school starts senior year • Suggest activities/projects that may develop future career skills

20. CAS & EE: Parent Don’ts • Focus too narrowly on grades, grades, grades at the expense of the core requirements of the program • Shy away from asking your child questions • Fill up the summer between junior and senior year • Assume that your otherwise responsible child will handle all of this gracefully

21. CAS & EE Parent Contract • Verifies parents understand tonight’s objectives: • Importance of CAS/EE to IB Diploma • Parent and student roles/responsibilities • General requirements for CAS and EE

22. Contact Information • Websites: uaiscas.com & uaisresearch.com • Managebac: uais.managebac.com • Email: justin.spear@uticak12.org • Phone: 586-797-3107