THe IB DP COre
During their junior and senior years, students completing the full Diploma Program (DP) engage in three additional elements of the IB program: Theory of Knowledge (TOK); Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS); and the Extended Essay (EE). These elements are referred to as the IB Core and are designed to support students in reflecting on the nature of knowledge, conducting independent research, and engaging in meaningful experiences outside of the school and within the community. These elements pertain to full DP students only.
Students are guided and supported through each of the IB Core components by our IB-trained teachers and professionals to ensure students have successful and meaningful experiences.
Students are guided and supported through each of the IB Core components by our IB-trained teachers and professionals to ensure students have successful and meaningful experiences.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) |
Extended Essay (EE) |
TOK serves as a thoughtful and purposeful inquiry into different ways of knowing, and into different kinds of knowledge, TOK is composed almost entirely of questions. The most central of these is "How do we know?" Through discussions of this and other questions, students gain greater awareness of their personal and ideological assumptions, as well as develop an appreciation of the diversity and richness of cultural perspectives.
TOK unites the subjects of the Diploma Program. It engages students in reflection on knowledge is arrived at in different disciplines and areas of knowledge, on what these areas have in common and the differences between them.
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The extended essay is intended to promote high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity while engaging students in personal research. This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing of up to 4,000 words in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned, coherent and appropriate manner.
Students are guided through the process of research and writing by an assigned supervisor (a teacher in the school). All students undertake three mandatory reflection sessions with their supervisor, including a short interview, or viva voce, following the completion of the extended essay.
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Creativity, Activity, & Service
(CAS)
CAS is at the heart of the DP. With its holistic approach, CAS is designed to strengthen and extend students’ personal and interpersonal learning from their previous years of schooling. CAS is organized around the three strands of creativity, activity, and service which are defined as
Creativity—exploring and extending ideas leading to an original or interpretive product or performance.
Activity—physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle.
Service—collaborative engagement with the community in response to a need.
CAS aims to develop students who seek out a range of meaningful experiences, develop strategies to meet their goals, embrace personal growth, and reflect upon their experiences.
Creativity—exploring and extending ideas leading to an original or interpretive product or performance.
Activity—physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle.
Service—collaborative engagement with the community in response to a need.
CAS aims to develop students who seek out a range of meaningful experiences, develop strategies to meet their goals, embrace personal growth, and reflect upon their experiences.
- CAS is for students completing the Full Diploma Program only
- CAS experiences occur outside of the school day, dependent on the student’s scheduling
- Students engage in CAS experiences over the course of their junior and senior years in the IB DP