Action Project (Leaving Cert CASD): Revision Notes
Action Project
What is the Action Project?
The Action Project is an additional assessment component of your Leaving Certificate Climate Action and Sustainable Development course. This project gives you the opportunity to put into practice everything you've learned throughout the course and demonstrate your ability to take meaningful action on climate and sustainability issues.
Think of the Action Project as your chance to make a real difference whilst showcasing the practical strategies and critical thinking skills you've developed. It builds on your experiences and connects to the Applied Learning Tasks strand, allowing you to demonstrate learning outcomes from other course strands as well.
How does the Action Project work?
Choosing your focus
Each year, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) issues a common brief that outlines the topics you can focus on. You'll select an action that relates to one of these topics, giving you flexibility to choose something you're passionate about.
The process
Your Action Project follows a clear process:
The Action Project Process:
- Research and define: Investigate an issue related to your chosen topic and identify how others have tackled similar problems
- Plan and design: Use your research to create a detailed action plan that addresses the issue
- Take action: Carry out your planned intervention or initiative
- Evaluate and reflect: Assess the effectiveness of your work and consider the broader implications
Individual assessment
Whilst you might collaborate with others during the action itself, your evidence of learning is submitted and assessed individually. This means your final submission must demonstrate your personal understanding, planning, and reflexion.
Even if you work with others during the action phase, remember that your final submission must be entirely your own work and demonstrate your individual learning and reflexion.
Time commitment
The Action Project is designed to take approximately 20 hours to complete. Schools have significant autonomy in planning and organising how you'll complete this work, with additional guidelines provided to support the process.
Assessment criteria
Your Action Project will be assessed against three main criteria. Understanding these will help you focus your efforts effectively.
Planning and conducting the action
This criterion evaluates how well you:
- Engage with the concepts within your chosen action area
- Consider different perspectives and interconnected systems
- Use reliable sources to inform your planning
- Select and justify appropriate strategies for taking action
- Design and implement your action effectively
Top Tip for Planning:
Show thorough engagement by considering multiple viewpoints and using a wide range of reliable sources to support your decisions. For example, if addressing plastic waste, research perspectives from environmental scientists, local businesses, community groups, and waste management experts.
Communication
This criterion assesses your ability to:
- Present information clearly and appropriately for your intended audience
- Use consistent and accurate terminology throughout
- Demonstrate awareness of how your communications impact different audiences
- Present high-quality information that engages your target groups
Top Tip for Communication:
Think carefully about who you're communicating with and adapt your language and presentation style accordingly. A presentation to primary school students will use different vocabulary and visuals than a report for local council members.
Reflexion
This criterion examines how you:
- Engage in thoughtful reflexion throughout the project
- Connect your process and experience to broader climate action issues
- Link your project outcomes to sustainable development concepts
- Consider the wider implications of your work
Top Tip for Reflexion:
Don't just describe what happened - analyse why it happened and connect your experience to the bigger picture of climate action and sustainable development. Ask yourself: "What did I learn about systemic change?" and "How does my project relate to global sustainability goals?"
Key points for success
Essential Success Strategies:
- Choose something meaningful: Select a topic you genuinely care about within the common brief
- Document everything: Keep records of your planning, sources, communications, and reflections throughout the process
- Think systematically: Consider how your action connects to broader environmental and social systems
- Be critical: Evaluate both successes and challenges in your work
- Use appropriate language: Match your communication style to your audience whilst maintaining accuracy
Remember - Key Project Overview:
- The Action Project lets you apply your course learning to real-world climate action and sustainable development challenges
- You'll research, plan, design, and carry out an action of your choosing within the annual common brief
- Assessment focuses on three key areas: Planning and conducting, Communication, and Reflection (remember PCR!)
- Your submission is individual even if you collaborate during the action phase
- Quality work shows thorough engagement, clear communication, and considered reflexion that links to broader issues
- The project takes approximately 20 hours and culminates in a submission formatted according to SEC requirements