Multiple reasons why students need to involve in projects. In the past, the education system produced students with theoretical or bookish knowledge with little project experience. Though the situation today has improved, many of the skills need nurturing throughout their student life. 

Secondly, students struggle to apply theory in practice when they start their careers. Rote learning is a major problem as students memorize the subjects and chapters without understanding the significance and application of those areas. 

Through projects based learning, students’ understanding deepens when they apply theory into practice. By executing a series of projects, important skills develop and instill a sense of purpose and connect with real-life situations and problems. This helps them to face different situations/scenarios thereby gaining exposure. 

To summarize, the top 5 reasons for students to take up projects are: 

1. Theory into practice – Students will engage in learning and would understand their area of interest better 
2. Experiment & Exposure - Experimenting with different interests and gaining exposure to different environments is key to their overall success 
3. Life skills - Acquiring and enhancing Life skills will be key to their career/profession 
4. Strengthening of Parent-child relationship 
5. Raises student achievement

Projects follow a specific process and sequence providing experiential learning with definite outcomes. Activities on the other hand may follow an informal process without outcomes defined. This is best explained through the following example:

Activity:

Students perform a water experiment to find out the different chemicals that is combined with it. They then present the report with details and composition of different chemicals.

Project:

Students not only perform experiments to find the chemicals but answer the important question of “Who pollutes the water?” and how it can be avoided or reduced in the future.

Qatapultt encourages the student to explore projects in the area of his/her interest. In case the project doesn’t exist, Qatapultt will create one and add it to the list. 

The program structure is simple. 

Step 1: Students, based on their interest or passion, choose a project that they would like to work on. If a project doesn’t exist in a particular area of interest, Qatapultt will create following the same guidelines as other projects.  

Step 2: The project chosen can be an individual or a team project. Maximum number of members in a team can be up to 5. We recommend a combination of individual and team projects for students.

Step 3: All projects follow the same process as outlined below:

1. Understanding of the project
2. Pre-assessment of skills – does not apply for demo project
3. Planning & Organization for the project
4. Implementation or Execution with weekly reviews by coach/mentor
5. Final presentation or project delivery
6. Post-assessment and report of project & skills.

Step 4: Points awarded & showcase

Since Parents and Students may not be familiar with PBL, Qatapultt has created demo projects for students free of cost. Students will be given one project with a deadline of maximum 2 weeks to complete. The steps involved in the demo projects are:

1. Selection of project 
2. Planning & organization 
3. Implementation with the help of mentor/coach
4. Final presentation or project delivery
5. Report that indicates the strengths, improvement areas and skills of the student

Note: Assessments (Pre & Post) as well as detailed reports is not available for the demo project.

1. Points for each project 
2. Student report: This report will list each project, short description, skills gained and overall performance. The student has to complete at least 3 projects in order to receive the student report.
3. Participation Certificate – Only once for a student when the student decides to de-register.

No problem at all. Qatapultt will help in identifying your child’s interest or passion prior to starting the project. As they work on many projects (same area or different) they would know their interests and follow their dreams. 

1. Students should have any one of laptop/desktop/smartphone
2. Access to internet
3. Availability of 6-8 hours a week depending on the size and complexity of the project
4. English will be used as the language of communication
5. Parents involvement – approximately 1-2 hours a week

Note: Materials or items needed to build the project are not included and has to be purchased  separately if needed. This depends on the type of project. 

No. It does not matter as Qatapultt has different learning models - online and offline (blended), online only and offline only.

Note: The program will be conducted online during the lockdown while following Covid protocols.

Yes. We are planning to help students form teams. We do ask students to encourage their friends and peers as familiarity will help to get started quickly.

Qatapultt encourages Parents and Students to refer and we will be open to a discounted price.

Each project will have a mentor or a coach so that students are guided throughout the project. The project coach will be the single point of contact for the students and parents.

Based on our experience working with students of different age groups, we have observed that understanding processes, coordination amongst peers, communication, etc become easier. Students at or above this age would require minimal parental supervision or help as they start being independent. Their understanding of the broader world takes shape. They are passionate or interested in certain areas based on their likes/dislikes. A combination of these factors is why we have chosen to start from this age.

Project Duration: 1-4 weeks and typically 1 to 3 projects in a month

Weekly Hours: 6-8 hours divided into 1-2 online sessions of 45 minutes each and the rest offline activities

Projects will be broken down into weekly milestones so that it is easier for the students to focus and complete thereby simulating the real world. They would spend around 6 to 8 hours a week on the project which should give them and their team (if it is a team project) sufficient time to research, understand, and execute the project. 

Online sessions of 45 minutes each will be used for explanation, doubt clearance, presentation by students, exploring a new topic, etc.

We understand, as parents, you would like your son/daughter to try a project before deciding to enrol for a longer period of time. After the demo period, Parents can enrol in monthly/quarterly/ semi-annual or annual subscription models. Longer term subscriptions will be cheaper than monthly subscriptions. 

Life skills or soft skills are gaining importance as employers are looking for candidates with all-round skills. The development of these skills takes time and effort as it requires practice and reinforcement. Life skills fall under multiples categories. Some of these categories are Personal organization, Relationship skills, Cognitive skills, Emotional skills, Leadership & Communication, Character & Values, Financial literacy, Digital literacy, etc.

While working on projects, students will use different skills under the categories listed above. Efforts will be taken to make sure that students develop these skills and practice them during project execution.

Due to Covid-19, the projects will be online only with offline activities at home. Offline activities will be structured in such a way it complies with existing Covid protocols and rules. These activities might require coordination with other team members, for team projects. Parents can also act as facilitators and help their son/daughter in guiding them.

Note: We sincerely request the parents/guardians not to complete or help implement the projects. They can guide them without giving them answers so that your son/daughter explores and thinks on his/her own.