Edtech Cleverbean has raised $200,000 in seed funding from early-stage Victorian investor Skalata Ventures to help reduce teacher burnout, at a time when record numbers are leaving the profession.
The startup offers thousands of research-backed and evidence-based learning materials for the K-6 Australian English curriculum.
Cleverbean was co-founded by Lucy Chambers, a teacher, and Alina Hunter.
Chambers said a recent study published by the Grattan Institute found that 76% of Australian teachers do not feel they have the support of schools to plan high-quality lessons, while 59% of teachers face burnout. The result Grattan called the "lesson lottery." They hope to improve the odds of students winning with Cleverbean.
โThe core of what we do solves three key problems: providing the best quality materials for teachers, making them easy to find, and ensuring each student receives personalized feedback,โ he said.
โAs a teacher, I often use social media to find pre-planned materials to save time. But the concern is that there is no governing standard, which makes it difficult for teachers to know if and how what they are getting is really evidence-based.โ
Hunter said Cleverbean's growth has been fueled by word-of-mouth referrals among teachers, who pay for the platform out of pocket, with 96% of teachers using the platform reporting they are saving time on planning. of lessons.
โOf course, we would prefer the schools to pay for the product, not the teachers. But the early validation we've seen from teachers gives us confidence that schools, and the government, will adopt the technology on their behalf,โ he said.
The duo is now looking to introduce artificial intelligence to the platform to help teachers provide real-time feedback to students. Chambers said the concept came about after analyzing hundreds of pieces of classroom work, feedback from teachers and their level of experience, realizing that without consistent feedback, students' ability suffers.
โNow we are using AI to give teachers time to focus on what matters: connecting, guiding and providing that essential personalized support to students,โ Chambers said.
Skalata investment manager Tom Smalley sees the edtech startup as a solution to various pain points in high school teaching for educators, parents and students.
"Cleverbean is giving the extremely slow government a lesson in efficiency, going straight to the teachers with a polished, research-based platform," he said.
โThe recent budget saw an additional contribution of $25 million to test new ways to reduce teacher workload and maximize instructional time. But Cleverbean's strong traction with teachers and impressive AI-assisted roadmap have shown that the solution may be in the offing."
