LiveSchool is grounded in research about how students learn best. This guide compiles key insights from educational research and offers practical ways to apply them in your classroom.

Let’s break it down 👇

💬 Why Positive Feedback Works

Research indicates that students tend to thrive when they receive frequent, specific, and authentic praise. When you highlight what a student did well, instead of just saying “good job,” they’re more likely to do it again.

🎯 What Makes Positive Feedback Most Effective?

Here’s what to keep in mind:

Be specific. Name the exact behavior you’re praising.
Be timely. Provide feedback immediately after the behavior.
Be authentic. Say it in a way that feels natural for you.

✅ Examples:

“Ariana, I really appreciate how you waited with your hand raised before sharing. That showed respect for your classmates.”
“Brandon, great job getting started on the bell ringer right away. That helps the whole class stay on track.”

Students are more likely to repeat the behavior when they know exactly what they did right.

👥 Group Feedback Still Works — If It’s Specific

You can give effective feedback to a whole group. Just make sure it’s still tied to a clear behavior.

Group Examples:

“Everyone at Table 4 is tracking the speaker and ready to respond — awesome focus.”
“This whole class followed our clean-up routine without a reminder. I’m impressed.”

✏️ What About Behavior Corrections?

If a student is off-task or disruptive, start with a quick reminder of your expectations:

“I love that you’re eager to answer. Remember, we raise our hands so we can all hear each other.”

If the behavior continues and your school asks you to log it in LiveSchool:

Include a short comment on what happened.
Keep it objective and specific.
Whenever possible, follow up privately, not in front of the class.

👂 Why this matters: Some students act out for attention. If we give attention to the negative behavior, we may unintentionally reinforce it. Instead, try to notice and reinforce the positive version of what they’re trying to do.

📈 Research Backs This Up

Studies show that:

Specific praise increases student engagement
Classrooms with more positive feedback have fewer disruptions
When teachers shift their focus to recognizing what’s going right, students respond

📊 Insights from 1,000+ Educators

Our School Culture Report surveyed over 1,000 teachers across 48 states. Here’s what they said:

Top challenge? Student behavior
Top priority? School culture
Biggest concern? Low teacher morale
What helps? Consistent systems like LiveSchool that build a positive environment

🧠 Want to dig deeper? Download the full School Culture Report here.

🏫 Real Schools. Real Results.

Explore case studies from schools that use LiveSchool to enhance school culture and improve student behavior. From small charter schools to large public districts, the results speak for themselves. Read their stories here.

🔬 LiveSchool + IES: Data That Drives Change

We collaborated with the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to develop tools that support school leaders in coaching teachers on effective behavior strategies. This collaboration led to LiveSchool Insights, a powerful series of dashboards and reports to: