CAS enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience. It provides opportunities for self-determination and collaboration with others, fostering a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from their work. CAS projects challenge students to show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and develop skills such as collaboration, problem-solving, and decision-making.

TOK asks students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, and on how we know what we claim to know. The theory of knowledge encourages critical thinking about knowledge itself and aims to help students make sense of their experiences. The course encourages students to share ideas with others and to listen and learn from what others think.