Presenters: Robin Ann Martin, Ph.D.Manolya Tanyu, Ph.D.

Stirling Perry, MA

Key findings from a CAS implementation study in TurkeyMarch 28, 2015

An Introduction to CAS(CAS Guide, 2008 for 2010, pages 2-4)

• Creativity: Arts, and other experiences involving creative thinking.• Action: Physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, “complementing academic work”• Service: Unpaid, voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit.

A little history: CAS as part of the “CORE” of the IB, with TOK & EE.

CAS Learning Outcomes(CAS Guides, 2008, 2015)

1. Awareness of own strengths & weaknesses.

2. Undertake new challenges, develop new skills.

3. Initiate and plan.4. Work

collaboratively.

What’s missing?

5. Perseverance and commitment.

6. Engage (locally) with issues of global importance.

7. Consider the ethical implications of one’s actions.

Cooking Literary or science magazines Utopia projects Robotics Designing clothes from recycled

material Theater/drama clubs outside of

school Helping with film festivals Radio Club Destination Imagination MUN, Euro Youth Parliament,

or other conferences abroad

Creativity: Individual activities and team projects

• Dancing (very popular)• Rock climbing• Karate• Boxing

• American football• Trekking • Camping

Action examples: Fitness, individual and team

Service examples: Often longer-term projects, sometimes whole-school initiatives

More unique• First Aid – learning it, then PR of its importance• Workshop learning with disabled students• AKUT (Search & Rescue)• Organ donation drive• Fixing toys for children• Habitat for Humanity• Beach clean-up

• Implementation theory (Durlak & Dupre, 2008)

• CAS research in the Americas (Billig & Good, 2013).

• A need to understand implementation of CAS programs in Turkey.

Research background

Two merging/diverging school systems:

Turkish Ministry of National Education + I.B.D.P.

Generally, teachers and students saw the MEB and IB as conflicting.

At one school, it was opposite. Most stakeholders claimed CAS aligns with MEB.

CC explained, “For example, MEB aims to educate people as environmentally-minded people, and who have responsibility towards the society and environment. And it is the same for CAS.”

CAS especially targets the I.B. Mission

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

...

These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

• Research questions:1. How is CAS being implemented in

six IB schools of Turkey? 2. What are barriers and assets for

implementing CAS?

• Research methods: Focus groups, interviews, document analysis.

• Data analysis: Coding with Nvivo8, individual reports created for each school.

CAS Research Project, 2013-2014

School Decade IB

began

Number of students in

IBDP

Number in both

IBDP and MoNE

% of IB students / total in Grades 11-12

School 1 1990s 220 489 45%

School 2 1990s 91 91 100%

School 3 1990s 80 80 100%

School 4 1990s 263 1044 25%

School 5 2000s 72 291 25%

School 6 2000s 64 130 49%

Study schools

Findings: How is CAS implemented?

Program focus in each school: Strive for balance, pride in service. CAS seen as less important than

academics.

Integration with academic subjects: Minimal.Some curriculum integration:

1. Duke of Edinburgh Award2. Middle schools with service emphasized (3)3. “Self Directed Learning Time”

Findings: Organizational capacities

Coordinator role: • Central to implementing CAS. • Only in two schools did CC have a course

reduction.Teacher involvement: Appreciated, but not

systematically integrated. • At one school, most DP and some non-IB

teachers volunteered to help with CAS. • Another school required teachers to be club

leaders. • A third school paid teachers to coach sports

or lead music, but not for supervising service projects.

Findings: Other organizational capacities

Student orientations: Customized. A video, a TOK/CAS town trip, an “IB Options” workshop, PPTs, meetings.

Student commitment and engagement: Whether students see value in CAS depended on their openness to learning outside of academics, which was influenced by relationships to CC, or other mentors.

Monitoring CAS: ManageBac (2 schools). Some programs using a shared approach to monitoring.

Findings: Other organizational capacities

Drowning in paperwork: Common across all schools, even those with ManageBac.

Approaches to reflection: • Experiential learning requires

authentic reflection.• Every student felt reflection was a

burden, not relevant to their learning.• Schools mostly used checklists and

journals.• Stronger CAS programs integrated

many forms of reflection.

Findings: Support systems Coordination with parents and

external service agencies: Community networking.

Training and development opportunities for CC: IBDP workshops , Duke of Edinburgh, or CAS meetings in Turkey.

Tech assistance to teachers: Needed. CAS program monitoring: Little

attention to continual development of CAS.

Untapped potential: Peer supports.

Teacher involvement: How one teacher discovered the value of CAS

“I showed some resistance at the beginning... thinking that it would be extra work for the teacher and not really that valuable for the student. Then... I had a student [who] started to work on a CAS project … and – it was in a region where the children had no drama experience before. And so [she] started to work on a play and we wrote the script together... and we adapted the play to the students so that they could follow... And then they acted it, and I was invited to see the theater play and I was surprised...”

“That moment was like a moment of illumination for me because it just triggered something [to see] the creativity and the acting part...actually opened up new horizons for me and for them also. For the schools that had no drama teacher and no drama experience, [so] we started to work on the theater plays... And that was a contribution, an addition to the community.”

CAS had to be seen through this teacher’s direct experience, before he understood its value.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Please contact:

Robin MartinBilkent UniversityEmail: RMartin@bilkent.edu.tr

Billig, S. H., & Good, B. M. (2013). Research Summary: International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme: Study of North and South American students’ civic-mindedness. Summary developed by the IB Research Department, research by the RMC Research Corporation.

Durlak, J. A., & DuPre, E. P. (2008). Implementation matters: A review of research on the influence of implementation on program outcomes and the factors affecting implementation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 327–350.

Furco, A. (2013). A research agenda for K-12 school-based service-learning: Academic achievement and school success. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 1(1).

International Baccalaureate. (2008). Creativity , action , service guide for students graduating in 2010 and thereafter. Cardiff, Wales: Author.

Larson, R.W., & Angus, R.M. (2011). Adolescents’ development of skills for agency in youth programs: Learning to think strategically. Child Development, 82(1), pp 277-294.

References

1. What can engage teachers more in CAS?

2. How can the reflection process be improved to support students’ experiential learning?

3. In the next three years, what aspects of CAS do you see your school working to improve?

Panel discussion (12:15 – 1:00)

More questions, time allowing

4. What helps develop community outreach and stabilize service partnerships? How can parents help more?5. Given the new 2015 CAS Guide, what strategies give students more responsibility?6. How can schools begin to integrate CAS more into academic areas?