Preparation & Action
PREPARATION
Preparation stage involves thinking about what you are going to do, and how you are going to do it. During this stage you devise a plan for conducting the Action stage-this is commonly referred to as the ‘action plan’. Things that you consider here include: the various tasks that need to be completed, the resources you will need to complete them, and a timeline of when things need to be completed and in what order. When your CAS involves collaborating with others, you also need to outline who needs to complete which tasks.
As you develop your idea in preparing to act, you may need to go back to the Investigation stage to gather the information you require to improve your planning. The extent of your planning is very much dependent upon the nature of the CAS experience or project you are planning. The extent of your planning is very much dependent upon the nature of the CAS experience or project you are planning. Due to its duration and complexity, a CAS project will obviously require more time in order to prepare for your involvement in it, while some CAS experiences, such as learning the guitar, may simply involve scheduling lessons and setting a goal and date to reach this goal.
The Preparation stage involves identifying the skills that would be necessary for you to participate in your CAS experience or project. Though the development of these skills may be a part of the next stage of CAS - the actual participation in the experience - it is important that you commence development of these skills, or in some cases became capable in them, before you start the Action stage. There may even be times when you need to complete some training or get professional support before you can start your participation. For example, you were aiming to publish a magazine or run a half-marathon, you would benefit from some initial professional advice and training before starting your involvement.
ACTION
Action plan is an outline of tasks that need to be completed in order to achieve a defined goal, who will complete them, and when they are to be completed by.
This the ‘doing’ part of CAS, where you implement the plans that you developed in the Preparation stage. It is the easiest of the five CAS stages to understand as it simply involves following the plans you have prepared. It does, however require you to take the time to reflect as you participate, and refer back to your preparation notes to make sure you complete all tasks you set yourself.