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Exploring Education in Sweden: A Transformative Experience with IEI
My recent trip to Sweden was remarkable, and I was fortunate to share the experience with some of the #IEIfamily. Over three days, we immersed...
TEAMology's CEO and founder, Linsey Covert, is a passionate educator turned entrepreneur. She left public education 13 years ago as a school counselor with over 800 kids and two buildings on her caseload, making it impossible for her to meet all her students' social, emotional, and mental health needs. Her vision for a better solution to help kids develop healthier connections and relationships while preparing for their future began as a graduate student at Penn State University in the early 2000s. Her research interests continued into the real world and led to experiences as a teacher, school counselor, therapist, and higher education career counselor. Through all of these experiences, she continued to create and build a framework in hopes of creating a practical way to help kids be more connected to school and one another.
What is the story behind TEAMology?
In the spring of 2016, TEAMology was among the first companies to emerge from the Invent Penn State ecosystem. Over the last few years, TEAMology expanded its interest to develop personalized solutions to meet students' social, emotional and mental health needs. This research and development led to creating what is now known as TEAMtalk - an AI & human led technology that provides kids with an opportunity to directly connect and be supported by one of the six TEAMology characters who we are proud to share are licensed by the home of Mister Fred Rogers, WQED.
What does your innovation look like in practice?
TEAMtalk is a web-based platform designed to help educators quickly understand where students are emotionally each day while supporting students universally to support and boost their mental health and fitness. Students access three features in this comprehensive solution: 1) A daily check-in, 2) a wellness screening, and 3) mental health coaching, where they receive research-based tips and strategies from diverse character coaches. The coaches are qualified professionals on the platform's backend, working alongside our responsive AI engine to provide personalized social-emotional education and support to each student. The conversational data is being consistently monitored across the 3 features and triaged to ensure students receive the most responsive support based on what they share with the character coach.
TEAMology works together for better mental health!
What differentiates TEAMology’s TEAMtalk from other SEL and mental health products?
Designing a successful EdTech platform that can be integrated into the real education world requires knowledge and expertise from those with experience in education. The TEAM behind TEAMology brought real-world experience in partnership with technology and business experts to deliver a comprehensive solution built to understand, support, and report on our students' social, emotional, and mental health needs. We also understand the importance of providing a way for students to feel comfortable and safe so that they have the opportunity to share concerns and receive helpful support in real-time. To do this, we have a team of diverse and relatable character coaches who interface with our students. These characters align with a deep research-based social-emotional curriculum as well. Lastly, we are proud to share that the home of Mister Fred Rogers, WQED, licenses our characters!
Tell us more about how you gather feedback from users.
“The students are the experts!” is a staple belief for TEAMology! While we understand the voices of the educators are a close second, it is critical for us to gather consistent feedback from our students. We recently launched a student advisory board to ensure the user's voice is loud and clear to improve the product continually! In addition, we have an education advisory board, where we are proud to have many IEI superintendents and leaders as members!
How has the partnership with IEI supported the growth of TEAMology?
We couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of the IEI family. IEI has created opportunities for TEAMology to connect to and learn from some of the most talented education leaders. The culture and environment established by IEI leadership opened doors for us to meet and build relationships. In turn, this provided opportunities to grow the important work we are doing to better support the social, emotional, and mental health of students across the country.
Catching Up with Superintendent Dr. George Philhower of Eastern Hancock Schools in Charlottesville, IN
Dr. George Philhower : September 16, 2024
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in education leadership? I knew I wanted to be an educator from a young age–a choice deeply influenced by my...