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:

• The study of over 300,000 kids that found a link between aggression and screen-time.

• Gen-Alpha (i.e. your students and kids) are the most anxious generation - it’s time you learn why.

• Enough is enough - will attendance rates return to pre-pandemic levels?

TECH TOOL

The Habit Hack That Doesn’t Feel Like School

Getting students (and let’s be honest - teachers too) to stick to habits is a losing battle… especially after summer. 

Whether it’s remembering homework, bringing materials, submitting forms, or just staying organized, good habits fall apart fast without a solid system.

And unfortunately, the “nag and remind” approach gets old fast.

The Solution: Habitica

Habitica is a free app that gamifies daily tasks and habits into an RPG-style adventure. 

Think: Zelda meets your to-do list.

Users create an avatar and earn gold, gear, and levels by completing real-life habits, tasks, and to-dos. You lose health points when you skip them. 

Teachers can use it personally to build strong prep routines - or introduce it to students as a classroom management tool that rewards consistent behaviors like remembering supplies, checking the agenda, or participating.

Because it’s not education-specific, it feels more like a game than a school chore. And that might be exactly what you need to make routines stick. 

Bonus: Teachers can create “parties” where groups work toward shared goals, making it ideal for group projects, reading challenges, or classroom-wide incentives.

In Your Classroom:

Teachers have been hearing about gamification for years now. But this isn’t just another ‘point system’.

Habitica gamifies the more ‘boring’ parts of student (and adult) life in a unique and engaging way.

Strategies

• Build Your Own Routine Before School Starts: Rebuild habits post-summer - lesson planning, early wakeups, or even daily walks. Get back into shape (mentally and physically) before the bell rings.

• Gamify Daily Classroom Tasks: Let students track recurring tasks like turning in homework, reading 20 minutes, or participating. You can even create fun custom in-app rewards.

• Group Habit Challenges: Create parties for student groups (or the whole class!) to hit shared goals - like no missing assignments for a week.

Habitica is a behavioral science toolkit wrapped in pixel art. 

Whether you’re getting your own life together before September or planning a new way to encourage student responsibility, this tool makes habit-building fun. 

And let’s be real: if a sword and shield are what it takes to get them to do their homework, so be it.

BRAINY BITS

Trick your brain into making any habit stick

Whether you’re trying to drink more water, read nightly, or get your students into a solid homework routine, a recent 2025 study shows that pairing “if-then” plans with a quick mental rehearsal can turbocharge habit formation.

The Study: Reinforcing Plans with Imagery

Researchers recruited 186 adults and asked each to pick one activity they wanted to start over four weeks (e.g., a daily walk, reading before bed, etc.). Participants were randomized into four groups:

• Implementation Intentions: Write a clear “When X happens, I will do Y” plan.

• Imagery Only: Use a guided 3-minute mental rehearsal imagining every step of doing the activity.

• Combined: Both the written “if-then” plan and the imagery script tailored to their own plan.

• Control: No special instructions.

All intervention groups logged in weekly to reinforce their assigned strategy.

The Results:

By week 3, those in the combined group saw a sharp rise in habit strength - measured by how “automatic” the behavior felt - and these gains held through a 12-week follow-up. 

Imagery alone boosted habit strength significantly by the end of the four weeks. Physical activity (and by extension any chosen habit) in the combined group also climbed steadily from week 2 onward, whereas little change occurred in the other groups.

In short, pairing a clear implementation intention with a brief mental rehearsal not only accelerates the shift from effortful action to automatic habit - it sustains it.

In Your Classroom:

We often teach kids to set goals but they drop them when motivation dips. 

This study suggests adding a quick 3-minute guided imagery session can bridge that gap:

Strategies

• For the Classroom: Before introducing a new routine (like a silent reading circle), have students close their eyes and vividly imagine each step of it.

• For You: Sketch out your own “if-then” plan - “If I finish grading, then I will go for a 10-minute walk” - and spend a few minutes picturing yourself lacing up, stepping outside, and enjoying the stroll.

Teachers are pros at helping students build routines, but we often neglect our own. 

Whether it’s setting up a summer writing habit or winding down tech use before bed, mental imagery can reinforce your “if-then” plans and make habit formation feel as natural as breathing. 

Give it a try this summer: pick one small goal, write your plan, imagine yourself doing it vividly - and watch that new habit take root sooner than you’d expect.

REFERENCES

This week’s issue adapts information from the following sources:

Tech Talk:

Habitica (2025). Motivate yourself to achieve your goals.  Retrieved from https://habitica.com/static/home

Brainy Bits:

Divine, A., & Astill, S. (2025). Reinforcing implementation intentions with imagery increases physical activity, habit strength and behaviour. British Journal of Health Psychology, 30, e12795. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12795