The Core Components

CAS , Extended Essay and TOK are the three core components of IB Diploma.

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The extended essay offers the opportunity for IB students to investigate a topic of special interest, usually one of the student’s six Diploma Programme subjects, and acquaints them with the independent research and writing skills expected at university. It is intended to promote high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity—resulting in approximately 40 hours of work. It provides students with an opportunity to engage in personal research on a topic of choice, under the guidance of a supervisor.

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This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing of 4,000 words, in which ideas and  findings are communicated in a reasoned and coherent manner, appropriate to the subject. It is recommended that students follow the completion of the written essay with a short, concluding interview—viva voce—with the supervisor. In countries where normally interviews are required prior to acceptance for employment or for a place at university, the extended essay has proved to be a valuable stimulus for discussion.

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The other main important part of the IB Diploma is CAS which comprises of creativity, action and service. Creativity, action, service is at the heart of the Diploma Programme, involving students in a range of activities that take place alongside their academic studies throughout the IB Diploma Programme.CAS encourages students to be involved in activities as individuals and as part of a team that take place in local, national and international contexts. Creativity, action, service enables students of the diploma programme to enhance their personal and interpersonal development as well as their social and civic development, through experiential learning, lending an important counterbalance to the academic pressures of the rest of the IB Diploma Programme. CAS makes diploma programme both challenging and enjoyable—a personal journey of self-discovery that recognises individual starting point.TOK gives a perspective of how an individual should deal in real life and in various types of situations. The theory of knowledge course is in part intended to encourage students to react on the huge cultural shifts worldwide around the digital revolution and the information economy. The extent and impact of the changes vary greatly in different parts of the world, but everywhere their implications for knowledge are profound. Theory of knowledge encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself and aims to help young people make sense of what they encounter. After a year of experience of all the three core components of IB Diploma , we had a meeting with the respective teachers, this is the time when we are now going to culminate our experiences into a structured piece of work respectively.

 

~Tavleen Arneja

  DP-2

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