This year asked a lot of teachers. 

Attention was harder to hold, energy was harder to find, and even good ideas sometimes felt like too much. 

So for our final issue of the year, we skipped predictions and looked back instead—at the tools we featured that actually got used and the studies that genuinely changed how teachers thought about their classrooms. 

As we head into the new year, we’re also quietly working on a few things at The PEN Weekly that build on ideas like these - meant to make good teaching feel a little more doable, not heavier. 

But first, here’s what truly earned its place in 2025.

🚀 Noteworthy News

👉️ Eye-opening: It’s surprisingly hard to tell if a text was written by AI — here’s why.

👉️ Ranking: These countries crush math — see who tops the list.

👉️ Encouraging: New research shows it’s never too late to teach high schoolers to read.

🔉But first, a word from today’s sponsor for the teachers looking for new ways to learn in 2026:

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And now back to making you an even better teacher 👇️ 

TECH TOOL

The 10 Tools That Defined Our Year

New Year’s Eve is for reflection, snacks, and pretending we won’t check email tomorrow.

This year, we tested, shared, and argued about a lot of edtech.

Here are the ten that actually earned a spot in classrooms, not just slide decks.

1. Atlas by OpenAI or Comet by Perplexity
   A research-first browser that helps teachers and students ask better questions, not faster ones. Perfect for planning, inquiry, and modeling responsible AI.
   

2. Imprint
   Turns doomscrolling into learning. Visual, calm, and genuinely interesting content in history, psychology, and economics.
   

3. Diffit
   Takes lessons you already made and adapts them for different reading levels and needs.
   

4. Brain.fm
   Focus music for brains that won’t sit still. Great for ADHD support and grading nights.
   

5. Focus To-Do
   Breaks work into short, timed sprints. Ideal for building student study habits.
   

6. We Will Write
   Daily writing without daily marking. Collaborative, low-pressure, and actually fun.
   

7. One Sec
   Adds a pause before opening social media. Small delay, big behavior change.
   

8. Brain Break Hub
   Zero-prep movement breaks that save everyone’s sanity. Especially in December.
   

9. Cymath
   Shows math steps, not just answers. A solid safety net when help isn’t available.
   

10. Suno
    Turns prompts into songs. Perfect for memory tricks, creative projects, and joyful chaos.

These tools didn’t replace teachers. They reduced friction, saved energy, and made learning feel possible on hard days.

That’s the bar for next year!

Here’s to fewer tabs, better questions, calmer classrooms, and tools that respect our time.
If it didn’t help kids learn or teachers breathe, it didn’t make the list.

And if you’re looking for a direct link to any of these tools - hit reply on this email and we’ll send you what you’re looking for. 🍎

BRAINY BIT

The Top 5 Studies Teachers Talked About

TLDR: Just like we did on the Tech Tool front above, instead of one deep academic dive, we’re closing the year with a greatest-hits list. 

These are five studies we featured that actually shifted how teachers think about classrooms. No buzzwords. No “revolutionary frameworks.” Just research that earned its keep.

1. One Week Off Social Media

A JAMA Network Open study found that young adults who reduced social media use for just one week saw sharp drops in anxiety, depression, and insomnia. For teachers, this validated what we feel daily: attention is fragile, emotional overload is real, and less digital noise can mean more learning space.

2. Screens, Students, and Achievement

This large Canadian study followed Grade 3 and 6 students and found a clear link between higher recreational screen use and lower standardized scores. The message wasn’t “ditch the iPads,” but “use them on purpose.” Screens help when they’re tools—not defaults.

3. Creativity Makes Learning Stick

This learning science paper showed that creativity supports learning by strengthening associative thinking—the brain’s ability to link ideas. That matters for math rules, vocabulary, and grammar. Being playful isn’t a distraction; it’s often the fastest path to understanding.

4. The Moment Students “Get It”

A fascinating study of mathematicians found that insight often follows visible struggle: pauses, rewrites, and messy thinking. That lightbulb moment doesn’t look neat. For teachers, this reframed confusion as a feature of learning, not a failure.

5. Why Students Trust Strangers Online

An academic essay on media trust showed that distrust in “the media” isn’t new—and isn’t really about accuracy. It’s about identity and alignment. In classrooms, this reinforced why critical thinking matters more than ever, and why students shouldn’t trust any single source blindly. Including us.

Thanks for reading with us this year. Just like with our Tech Tools above, if you’re looking for a direct link to any of these studies featured above, hit reply on this email and let us know - we’ll send them over right away for that perfect holiday read.

We’ve got the same goal next year here at The PEN: fewer barriers between research and real classrooms to help you become an even better teacher.

See you in 2026!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We would LOVE to hear from you!

Reply to this email, or send us a message on Instagram! We’re here to walk with you in these crazy times!

Part of what makes The PEN Weekly community so special is the fact that our readers are teachers from around the world! We’re not going to lie, we think that’s pretty darn cool!

We’ll see you again on Monday 🍎

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