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How to Write Pre & Post
CAS Reflections
by ZEYNEP AMBARCI February 14, 2022 1 Comment
CAS is simultaneously the best and the most
irksome part of the IB. It is the best because it’s
the only part of IB where you get to engage
socially outside academics. You can learn new
skills, work towards six pack abs or help
someone out! But the most tricky part is to
write about it. Most of my friends were nearly
going to fail in CAS because they
procrastinated their reflections for so long and
didn’t know how to write them well. But, we’ll
try to avoid this situation! That’s why in this
article I am going to show you how I write my
pre- and post- reflections.
Pre-reflections
Pre-reflection is the planning you do before
starting an assignment. Normally you would
make an outline for it: write the hypothesis of
the assignment, determine your arguments
and make a timeline on how to proceed on the
writing. In pre-reflections you do exactly the
same. You state:
1. The aim of this experience
2. The reason you chose this experience
3. The preparations you did for this
experience (timeline, materials, skills etc.)
4. The possible challenges and how do you
expect to overcome them
5. What do you expect to learn from this
experience? (Learning Outcomes, IB
Learner Profile)
It seems like a lot, but usually a 200-word
reflection is enough. Let me give you an
example of my reflection on one of my
personal projects, so you can see what a real
reflection could look like!
· · ·
Example 1: Pre-reflection
“The students I am assigned to and I will meet
online once a week for this project. We will talk
about their academic journey and the identity
of our school and how they can fit into it. (the
timeline/plan + aim)
I chose this project because I can relate to the
students who are just starting high school and
know nothing about it. I was confused and had
a hard time adjusting to the school two years
ago. I aim to make this process easier for the
new students because I was in their position
two years ago. (the reason the experience is
chosen)
I expect to improve my communication skills
through interacting with the students who are
younger than me and improving my
management skills by taking control of a small
group and keeping the peace among the group
to have e!icient progress. I plan to show
Strength & Growth on Initiative & Planning,
Collaborative Skills, Commitment &
Perseverance with this project. These will make
me a better Communicator, Principled and
Caring person. (what this experience will
teach me)
I might have di!iculties managing the small
group and fully serving their needs. Being
patient with the students may be a challenge
for me too. But I am an outgoing person and
can easily build relationships with others. These
strengths of mine will help me throughout this
process. (challenges & solutions)
Before I start this project I should be aware of
the study plan which is prepared by the project
leaders and be comfortable with the materials I
am going to work on with the students.
(preparations)”
· · ·
This is a superficial example of what can be
done in your first reflection. If I were you, I
would go in depth about details specific to this
experience and how the learning outcomes
will be practiced with this experience. You can
explain how you’ll improve each Learning
Outcome you claimed to be practicing.
Also, when talking about the challenges you’ll
face, it might be better to o!er hypothetical
problems and solutions instead of saying ‘‘I am
… kind of person, so I’ll fix it.’’ This example
emphasizes the five points you need to
mention in your reflection clearly. So you can
take it as your inspiration but more details are
needed in addition to this.
Post-Reflections
Just a"er the summer break, you come to the
school for the first time in months and you
have the biggest case of the Mondays. You
dream about the peeling red sunburn, licking
runaway watermelon juice o! your fingers, and
all of a sudden your teacher breaks your
imagination with an essay instruction to ‘‘tell
us about your summer break.’’ Thankfully, the
following can be used for coming up with an
answer:
1. Did you accomplish the goals you set in the
pre reflection?
2. If yes, how? What went well? What was the
challenge? Did you overcome it? If yes,
how? Or, add general important moments
you want to recall.
3. Did you meet the Learner Outcomes, and
how did you do it?
4. How did this experience change you
personally? How did you feel while doing
it? Do you regret a decision, would you
change it if you had the chance?
I hear you saying, ‘‘These are not really steps,
they are just more questions.’’ And you are
right! There is no formula to post-reflections
other than summarizing the event and
reflecting on your decisions.
· · ·
Example 2: Post-reflection
“Project X was an educational and successful
project. A"er making 6 sessions with my prep
students, I finished my part in this project. I met
my goal of informing the students I mentor
about various topics about high school such as
the languages we learn, what to study on
holidays etc. We documented their
improvement with the feedback sheets we
completed a"er our sessions. Within our session
I definitely improved my communication skills,
we broke that age barrier and talked like
friends without any silence. I also met my goal
of management skills because aside from
communicating, I completed all the
assignments we had to do in our session
without any mistakes or absences. (succeeding
and the methods)
My students were also motivated to continue
the project, my group’s attendance was greater
than some of the other groups. (complimenting
yourself, because in 2022 we are all about
self-care)
Creating a group dynamic and getting used to
each other was a di!iculty at first, but we
managed to overcome that with time and being
patient with each other. Sometimes I had
di!iculties keeping my students mood up and
motivated but the more time we spent the more
interested they got. (challenges & solutions)
We created a friendly and safe environment
where I felt comfortable and we learnt from
each other. (Feelings)
What I learnt from this experience was to not
judge someone from their age because my
students definitely proved me wrong with their
matureness. (Learning)
I feel like this experiment made me a better
Communicator, Principled and Caring person.
(IB Learner Profile)”
· · ·
Adding a summary of one of the teaching
sessions and giving details about the context
of the lectures would make this reflection
perfect. But it does show how this person felt
during this experience quite well, they felt
comfortable and eliminated their prejudice
against younger students. You don’t have to
learn something ‘‘dramatic’’ like this example
but with more detail and ‘‘show not tell,’’ I’m
sure you’ll have no problem with it. CAS is one
of the rare assignments in IB where you have a
room for subjectivity. I advise you to use it, and
be creative as possible while finding out CAS
activities and writing about it. Good luck!
You may also like…
Anna’s advice for getting ahead with CAS
reflections
Cynthia’s overview of the CAS Learning
Outcomes
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Published by Zeynep Ambarci
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1 comment
Emily DECEMBER 5, 2022 AT 7:48 PM
I love you THANK YOU
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