MAKING IT EASIER TO BE A BETTER TEACHER

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Here’s our weekly roundup of interesting education stories from around the world. Click each link to dive deeper:

• 1/3 of English teachers have reported malnourished students - should schools and governments step in?

• “Why are we learning this?” - Is career-connected learning the answer to engagement?

• The most dangerous phrase adults can say to parents - at least according to this parenting coach.

BRAINY BITS

Why teens are glued to their screens

Are teens really choosing to sit all day on their phones? Or is there a bigger controlling factor out there besides just ‘hormones and laziness’?

This week, we look at a 14-country study that says… not exactly. Where they live and how those live around them may be the bigger influence.

The Study: Environmental drivers of adolescent sedentary behavior

Researchers across six continents analyzed nearly 4,000 teens using accelerometers and surveys to understand what’s keeping them sedentary.

They looked at how factors like neighborhood walkability, traffic safety, and personal screen access affected total sitting time.

The big finding? Teens spent 8 - 10 hours per day sitting still.

That is FAR beyond the World Health Organization’s 2 - 3 hour recommendation. But that number only tells part of the story.

The Results

First, personal social media accounts were strongly linked to more screen time across the board. If there was a reason to be online, students stayed online.

Second, surrounding environments actually played a large role. Walkable, safe neighborhoods helped cut down recreational screen use - especially for girls.

Lastly, homes with more devices saw higher sedentary time. If devices were easy to access with no supervision, they became much more distracting.

Surprisingly, even across vastly different countries - rural India to urban USA - these patterns held steady. What varied was the availability of parks, safety perceptions, and access to tech.

In Your Classroom:

When teens seem zoned out and screen-bound, remember: they’re not just making lazy choices. 

Their environment may be ONE of the factors quietly shaping their behavior. 

Here’s how this research might change your lens this week:

Strategies

• See behavior in context: That student glued to their phone may not have a safe place to walk or play near home and they’re taking advantage of any ‘break’ time they can get.

• Design activity into the day: Even short, teacher-led walk breaks or standing discussions help fight sedentary drift.

• Ask about home setups: Students with devices in their bedroom are more likely to struggle with attention and energy in class. Encourage them to move their devices to a common area instead.

Reducing screen time isn’t just about stronger rules - as has been made evident by the many school boards banning personal devices.

We’re not arguing that there’s no personal responsibility here - there definitely is. 

But if smarter, preventative design, indoors and out, can help our students (and hey, even ourselves) break our screen addictions, then we owe it to our future communities to at least try it out.

TECH TOOL

My classroom should feel like my classroom.

You want your classroom to feel like yours—a welcoming, personalized space where students instantly know they belong. 

But between lesson planning, grading, and endless meetings, who has the time (or the graphic design degree) to create custom posters, anchor charts, and visual aids that reflect your unique teaching style?

The Solution:  SketchWow

SketchWow makes it ridiculously easy to create hand-drawn-style posters, charts, and visuals - no artistic talent or expensive software needed. 

With a simple drag-and-drop interface, you can design everything from classroom rules and daily schedules to motivational quotes and anchor charts. 

Its "sketchy" style adds a personal, human touch that printed templates and mass-produced posters (no offense to TPT) just can't match. 

Plus, you can download your creations as high-quality PDFs or images, ready to print and hang in your classroom within minutes.

In Your Classroom:

There are many apps that have made graphic design and personalization super easy for teachers already (hello Canva!).

But tools like SketchWow make this even easier, especially if you don’t know where to begin or don’t have access to a Canva premium/education account.

Here’s how you can get started with SketchWow this week:

Strategies

• Design Your Own Classroom Posters: Skip the cookie-cutter store-bought stuff. Create a few custom posters for your classroom values, classroom jobs, or "growth mindset" reminders - and reflect your teaching vibe!

• Create a "Meet Your Teacher" Display: At the start of the year (or even mid-year for those newbies), design a playful visual introducing yourself - your hobbies, favorite books, and classroom expectations - to help students connect with you quickly.

• Upgrade Those Slideshows: If you’ve exhausted Canva and Prezi and are looking for a fresh way to design lesson content, you’ll find a bunch of new included presentation tools.

Your classroom deserves more than clip art and dusty old posters. 

SketchWow gives you the tools to create your space. Price wise it’s actually not too bad, with a lifetime cost (that’s right, no subscription fee with this one) coming in at just under $50 USD.

In just a few clicks, you can make your room (and lessons) an extension of your teaching style... and your students will feel it the moment they walk through the door.

REFERENCES

Tech Talk:

SketchWow. (2025). Create fast, AI-powered, super-engaging simple sketches. Retrieved from https://www.sketchwow.com/

Brainy Bits:

Anjana, R.M., Ranjani, H., Cerin, E. et al. Associations of perceived neighbourhood and home environments with sedentary behaviour among adolescents in 14 countries: the IPEN adolescent cross sectional observational study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 21, 136 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-024-01678-4