QShala — LxD Lab

How QShala motivated families to connect with themselves through curiosity, community, and consistency

Learner

Children (Grade 4+) and their families

Topic

General Knowledge / Current Affairs

Format

Online, one-off weekend sessions for different quizzes

QShala is a curiosity platform striving to foster inquisitiveness amongst people across all ages and backgrounds through quizzes, stories and exciting engagements.

They work with corporates, schools, and governments, aiming to instil camaraderie, spark healthy competition, and celebrate success through shared learning experiences.

In this case study, we delve into QShala's program: the "QShala Sunday Family Quiz", an online, interactive, and reward-driven initiative encouraging children to venture beyond their typical school curriculum and bond with their families.

What’s Inside

Problem (2 mins read):
Exploring a new avenue for building curiosity

Process (3 mins read):
From an Idea to 125 Sunday Quizzes

Implementation (5 mins read):
QShala's 3Cs - Curiosity, Community and Consistency

Impact (3 mins read):
Family bonding fuelled by quizzing

Exploring a new avenue for building curiosity

Problem

QShala engages with a broad audience through quizzes, ranging from school children, teachers, and parents to corporate employees and governmental bodies.

While conducting quiz-based workshops in schools, they observed a growing disconnect between parents and children. Parents were often in the dark about their children's quiz engagements.

While interacting with corporate employees, they also realised that parents and children had topics they struggled to discuss. This distance grew during the pandemic, and the need for a space where parents and children spent meaningful time together increased.

To understand this further, they ran surveys which revealed some key observations, which led to the realisation of a new opportunity.

They were able to uncover some new insights:

Kids are not as inquisitive as they once were, and adults, too, have drifted away from the abundant curiosity of their younger days.

One of the main reasons for this was that they were lost in the maze of instant information and passive digital consumption.

Parents yearned for quality interactions with their children, as times spent together were spent engrossed in separate digital universes.

How did QShala turn these insights into an opportunity?

Let's dive in!

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Process

From an Idea to 125 Sunday Quizzes

Here is how QShala developed their solution -

QShala noticed the need to foster curiosity and promote family engagement, connecting learning with fun and interactivity.
Quizzes could be an opportunity to rekindle the curious spirit in both parents and children and build spaces for meaningful interactions.
The team started toying with the idea, testing interactive quizzes with friends and family to understand its potential. Their first pilot involved 20 families.
They introduced new elements such as theme-based quizzes and celebrity engagement. The team actively sought feedback, constantly improving and adapting the quizzes to the audience's preferences.
Regular challenges, like internet issues and scoring, were continuously addressed and adapted, helping transform learning environments into engaging experiences.
In their initial stages, they tried various tools for the quiz, including using the Zoom chat feature for answers and manually calculating scores in Excel. After testing several platforms, they found the combination of Kahoot and Zoom most effective for their needs. They also developed SOPs (standard operating procedures) to make the process scalable.

After multiple rounds of feedback and design, the QShala Sunday Family Quiz was born.

Here is what it looked like:

How did QShala's Sunday Family Quiz actively engage both kids and parents in these quizzes?

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QShala’s 3Cs - curiosity, community & consistency

Implementation

1. Curiosity driven learning through relevance (growth mindset)

QShala’s primary aim is to rekindle the spirit of curiosity and growth mindset across age groups.

As children, we often ask many questions, a habit that unfortunately diminishes as we age. With the rise of the internet, many kids turn to digital tools for immediate answers rather than engaging in conversation and sharing their curiosity with others.

QShala promotes the idea of lifelong learning, urging individuals not to settle with the information they have but to stay abreast of new trends and technologies, especially as future jobs are uncertain.

They integrated themes and subjects in the quizzes that spark curiosity and promote a growth mindset to achieve this. The combination of education and entertainment made learning appealing and encouraged both students and parents to explore new knowledge horizons together.

Quizzes covered various topics, from entrepreneurship and cinema to historical events and global environmental initiatives like Earth Hour, alongside quizzes related to various cultural celebrations in India and abroad.

When students suggested adding guests, QShala's team asked internally, "As a kid, who would you like to hear from?". They then managed to secure some big names for their Sunday quizzes.

Hosting celebrities and authors, such as Sudha Murty, Ruskin Bond, and Kiran Bedi, added excitement and allure to the quizzes. These distinguished guests instilled aspiration and inspiration among the participants, making the sessions more engaging and vibrant.

This approach allowed the learners to move beyond the conventional learning boundaries, fostering an environment where learning became an exciting journey rather than a task. Students became more open to challenges and eager to expand their understanding, supported by their parents' involvement.

When quizzes contained new information, specific reading material and context were provided beforehand or during the quiz, enhancing the learning experience.

"I actually wake up late on most days, but on Sunday, I wake up early...for the quiz”

(Source: A 15-year-old participant, who has even gotten his parents interested in quizzing)

What did they learn?

Content relevance is paramount; if the content doesn't resonate with the audience, engagement falls. The theme-centric approach showed that tying content to culturally or environmentally significant topics could foster deeper engagement, curiosity and learning.
Keeping the topics unique and challenging piqued the participants' curiosity and motivated them to return to the quizzes — the addition of celebrities added to the element of mystery and curiosity.

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2. Fostering community through common goals & rewards system

QShala took steps to create a sense of community through shared goals and recognition. Using rewards and interactive tools like Kahoot fostered an environment where participants felt valued and part of a larger group.

This strategy incentivised participation and helped build a sense of belonging and achievement. By recognising and rewarding efforts, QShala was able to sustain interest and create a supportive network where learners and their parents felt recognised and engaged.

The first 20 families to answer every question correctly won cash prizes, gift coupons or a free book. The previous week's winners were also announced and publicly congratulated each week.

Beyond the regular points and leaderboards, QShala introduced unique reward mechanics to make the quizzes even more interactive and engaging, such as:

Critical Thinking Pro: Participants could earn rewards and recognition if they spotted deliberate mistakes introduced during the quiz. This encouraged a keen sense of observation among the students, promoting not just passive participation, but active and focused engagement.

What did they learn?

Having a clear goal and shared achievements helped families collaborate and fostered greater engagement and commitment from participants.
Recognition fueled motivation and created a sense of accomplishment, leading to continued participation and a greater sense of community belonging.

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3. Habit forming through consistency

At the heart of QShala's engagement strategy is the consistency with which they operate. Through a meticulous implementation of schedules and reminders, QShala made participation a habit that evolved into a cherished weekly ritual.

"It’s become a habit now — we finish up our chores on Sunday and sit down at 11.30 for the quiz. We really look forward to it,”

(Source: Bengaluru-based parent - Rajshri)

Such conditioning led to participants associating specific timings with learning in a fun and engaging manner. This routine also provided a sense of stability and expectation, ensuring that the quizzes became an eagerly anticipated family activity every week.

So entrenched was this habit that on Sundays without quizzes, some students would frantically attempt to join the Zoom session, messaging that the link was not working, only to realise later that no quiz was scheduled.

What did they learn?

Maintaining consistency in scheduling fostered a ritualistic behaviour, enhancing retention and engagement.
Continuous engagement and uniform communication, built a sense of familiarity in the participants and set the right expectations.

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Family bonding fuelled by Quizzing

Impact

QShala regularly receives endorsements from parents, teachers, and students, reflecting personal impact. These include developing an interest in quizzing, overcoming shyness, enhancing self-confidence, and fostering better civic awareness.

Metrics and Outcomes

Participation Growth

From a pilot quiz of 20 families in 2019, the average attendance grew to 80-100 families per quiz. QShala celebrated the 125th edition of the quiz in August 2023.

Retention Rate

On an average, the quiz has a retention rate of 60%.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

The quiz has an average NPS score of 80%

Community Size

QShala’s overall expansive community stands at 100,000+ families

QShala continues to get repeated engagements with top publications and noted authors like Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan, Harish Bhat, and Sudha Murty, recommending QShala as part of their promotional strategies.

The quizzes have had a positive impact on Aditya. From surprising me with quizzes on things we enjoy doing together to testing my knowledge of trivia and current affairs, to even preparing quizzes for the school assembly - Aditya's confidence has greatly improved because of his participation. I have also borrowed some ideas from the Qshala format to help Aditya prepare for his exams.”

(Source: A QShala Parent)

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