Flander’s interaction analysis
PRESENTED BY:
Sukhwinder Singh Cheema,
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics and Education
Technology
Doraha College Of Education, Doraha
Dimension of interaction
According to Daniel G. Bobrow, there are
three dimensions of interaction.
1.communication
2. Coordination
3. Integration
Interaction Analysis:
Interaction analysis is a processs of
encoding and decoding the study
pattern of teaching and learning
process of classroom.
A typical system for interaction analysis
will usually include
1.
2.
3.
4.
A set of categories, each defined clearly
A procedure for observation and a set of
ground rules
Steps for tabulating data in order to
arrange a display
Suggestions which can be followed in
some of the more common applications.
Classroom interaction analysis:
According to Dr. S.K. Thakur, classroom
interaction analysis may be defined as “an
instrument which is designed to record
categories of verbal interaction during, or
from, recorded teaching learning sessions. It
is a technique for capturing qualitative and
quantitative dimensions of teacher’s verbal
behavior in the classroom.”
Flander’s System of Interaction
Analysis:
Flanders’ system is an observational tool
used to classify the verbal behavior of
teachers, and pupils as they interact in the
classroom
Basic theoretical assumptions of interaction
analysis
☺Predominance of verbal communication
☺Higher reliability of verbal behaviour
☺Consistency of verbal statements
☺Teacher’s influence
☺Relation between student and teacher
☺Relation between social climate and
productivity
☺Relation between classroom climate and
learning
☺Use of observational technique
☺Role of feedback
☺Expression through verbal statement
Flander's Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC)
 Teacher talk
1.Accepts feeling
2.Praises or encourages
3.Accepts or uses ideas of pupils
4.Asks questions
5.Lecturing
6.Giving directions
7.Criticising or justifying authority
 Pupil talk
8. Pupil-talk response
9. Pupil-talk initiation
 Silence
10. Silence or confusion
Categ
Areas
Cat.
Type
Teacher
Talk
Cat.
No.
Activity
1
Accepts feeling
2
Praises or encourages
3
4
Accepts or uses ideas of
pupils
Asks questions
5
Lecturing:
6
Giving directions
7
Indirect
Response
influence
direct
Pupil talk
Silence
Direct
Initiation
Response
8
Criticising or justifying
authority
Pupil-talk response
Initiation
9
Pupil-talk Initiation
10
Silence or confusion
1. Accepts feeling
Accepts and clarifies an attitude or the feeling
tone of a pupil in a non-threatening manner.
Feeling may be positive or negative. Predicting
and recalling feelings are included.
2. Praises or encourages
Praises or encourages pupil action or behavior.
Jokes that release tension, but not at the
expense of another individual; nodding head,
or saying “Um hm?” or “go on” and included.
3. Accepts or uses ideas of pupils:

Clarifying or building or developing ideas
suggested by a pupil. Teacher extensions of
pupil ideas are included but as the teacher
brings more of his own ideas into play, shift to
category five.
4. Asks questions:

Asking question about content to procedure,
based on teacher ideas, with the intent that a
pupil will answer.
5. Lecturing:

Giving facts or opinions about content or
procedures; expressing his own ideas, giving
his own explanation, or citing an authority
other than a pupil.
6. Giving directions

Directions, commands or orders to which a
pupil is expected to comply .
7. Criticising or justifying authority

Statements intended to change pupil behavior
from non-acceptable to acceptable pattern;
bawling someone out; stating why the teacher
is doing what he is during; extreme selfreliance.
8. Pupil-talk response

Talk by pupils in response to teacher. Teacher
initiates the contact or solicits pupil statement
or structures the situation. Freedom to express
own ideas is limited.
9. Pupil-talk Initiation:

Talk by pupils, which they initiate. Expressing
own ideas; initiating a new topic; freedom to
develop opinions and a line of thought, kike
asking thoughtful questions; going beyond the
existing structure.
10. Silence or confusion:

Pauses, short periods of confusion in which
communication cannot be understood by the
observer.
Procedure of Flander’s Interaction Analysis:

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There are two process of interaction anaylsis.
Encoding process
Decoding process
The encoding process is used for recording
classroom events and preparing observation
matrix by encoding the numbers of ten
category system.
The decoding is process of interpreting
observation matrix.
Encoding Process:
Encoding Process has three steps:
 Memorize the code number:
The first step in the process of encoding is to
memorize the code Numbers, in relation to
key phrase of words, which are indicated in
capital in ten-category system.
 Place of sitting:
An observer sits on the last bench of the
classroom and observes the teacher when
he is teaching.
 Recording the category number:
At an interval of every three seconds he
writes down that category number which best
represents or communication event just
completed
For instance







when teacher is lecturing the observer puts 5.
when he asks question he puts 4.
when student replies he put 8.
when teacher praises he puts 2.
when teacher asks to sit down he puts 6.
when again the teacher starts lecturing he
puts5.
The procedure of recording events goes on at
the rate of 20 to 25 observations in per minute.
Ground rules to be observed in encoding
process:
 Rule 1:
 When it is not certain in which of two or more
categories a statement belongs, choose the
category that is numerically farthest from the
category 5. For e.g., if an observer is not sure
whether it is 2 or 3 then choose 2. If in doubt
between 5 and 7, he chooses 7.
 Rule2:
 If the primary tone of the teacher’s behavior has
been consistently direct or consistently indirect, do
not shift into an opposite classification unless a clear
indication of shift is given by the teacher. This rule is
often called the rule of the biased, unbiased observer
or Not to shift into opposite classification
 Rule3:An observer must not concern with his
own biases or with the teacher’s intent.
 i.e. If a teacher attempts to be clever and pupils
see his statements as criticism of pupils;
 The observer sues category 7, rather than
category 2.
 This rule has particular value when applied to
the problem of helping teachers to gain insight
by their own behavior, e.g., ‘I was trying to
praise them’ I wanted them to answer that
question’.

Rule 4: If more than one category occurs
during the three seconds interval, then all
category used in that interval are recorded. If
no change occurs within three seconds, then
repeat category number.
Decoding process:

After encoding the classroom events into ten-category
system 10x10 matrix table is prepared for decoding
the classroom verbal behavior. The generalized
sequence of the pupil-teacher interaction can be
estimated in this matrix table. It indicates, what form
a pair of categories. The first number in the pair
indicates the row and the second number shows the
column for example (10-6) pair would be shown by a
tally in the cell formed by row 10 and column 6. For
example the observer has written down the code
numbers beginning with 6 as follows:
6,10,5,1,4,8,8,2,3,6,4,8,9,7.
Decoding process:
The proportion of teacher talk, pupil talk, and
silence or confusion
The ratio between indirect influence and direct
influence
The ratio between positive reinforcement and
negative reinforcement
Student’s participation ratio
Steady state cell
Content cross cell
Constructive integration cells and vicious cells
10
5
9
6
5
5
5
5
4
8
10
1
3
6
8
9
4
1
5
7
2
10
Tabulating a matrix
1 2
3 4
5
6
I
II I
IIII
I
7
8 9
10
1
2
II
3
4
I
I
5
I
III IIIII III
IIIII
IIIII
I
IIII
6
7
IIIII
II
I
9
III
10
%age
I
IIIII
II
III
II
II
II
10
IIII
I
8
Total
I
2 11 23
I
I
12 4
I
IIIII IIIII IIIII
IIIII IIIII IIIII
III
IIII
1 48
6
Interpreting the matrix:
1
2
3
4
5
6
1
2
1
4
1
7
8
9
10 Total
1
2
2
3
2
4
1
1
1
5
1
3
15 3
1
6
4
4
1
7
5
7
9
3
10
2
2
0
%age 0
7
1
23
2
12
3
4
1
8
Total
9
1
1
1
2
3
31 3
48
4
7
10 2
11 23 12 4
1
48 6
9
9
1
41 5
2
20 10 3
117
INTERPRETATION
TOTAL TEACHER BEHAVIOUR (TTB)
OR
TEACHER TALK(TT): It represent the
performance of a teacher in term sof action
reflecting the tendency of teacher talk. It can
be concluded as below:

Total of categories 1 to 7
TT=
x100
N
Teacher indirect Influence/ Talk
(ITT)/ Area A
It represents the performance of the teacher in
terms of his action encouraging and supporting
student’s participation:
Total of categories 1 to 4
ITT=
x100
N
Direct Teacher Influence/ Talk
(DTT)/ Area B
It represents the performance of the teacher in
terms of his action. There is restriction on
student’s participation:
Total of categories 5 to 7
DTT=
N
x100
Pupil Talk (PT)/ Area C
It concerns pupils’ verbal activities in response to
the teacher:
Total of categories 8 to 9
DTT=
N
x100
Silence or confusion (SC)/ Area D
It represent silence during teaching which may
be due to confusion or any other reason
Total of category 10
SC=
x100
N
Indirect to Direct Teacher Talk
Ratio(ID Ration)
It represent the proportion of indirect to direct
influence:
Total of categories 1to 4
I/D=
x100
Total of categories 5 to 7
Pure Indirect to Pure Direct
Influence Ratio(ID Ration)
It represent the proportion of pure indirect to
pure direct influence:
Total of categories 1,2 to 3
I/D=
x100
Total of categories 6 to 7
Pupil initiation Ratio(PIR)
It represent the pupil talk judged by the observer
to be an act of initiation:
Total of category9
PIR=
x100
Total of categories 8 to 9
Teacher Response Ratio(TRR)
It represent an index of teacher’s tendency to
react to the ideas and feeling of students:
Total of categories 1,2 and 3
TRR=
x100
Total of categories 1,2,3,6 to 7
Content Cross Ratio(CCR)
It represents the proportion of class room
activities related to the teacher’s questions and
lecturing with total contents:
Total of category 4 and 5
CCR=
N
x100
Steady State Ratio (SSR)
It represents the teacher’s tendency to sustain a
particular type of classroom communication in
the same state for a period longer than three
seconds:
Total frequencies of Steady State Cell
SSR=
x100
N
Pupil Steady State Ratio (PSSR)
It represents the tendency of pupil talk in the same
state for a period longer than three seconds:
(8,8) +(9,9)
PSSR=
x100
(8+9)
Instantaneous Teacher Response
Ratio (TRR-89)/ Area G
It represents the teacher’s tendency to praise or
integrate pupil Ideas into the class discussion
when pupils stop talking:
(8,1) +(8,2)+(8,3)+ (9,1) +(9,2)+(9,3)
TRR-89=
x100
(8,1) +(8,2)+(8,3)+(8,6)+(8,7)+
(9,1) +(9,2)+(9,3)+ (9+6)+(9,7)
Instantaneous Teacher Question
Ratio (TQR-89)
It is an Index of teacher’s tendency to respond to
pupil talk with question based on his own Ideas
compared to his tendency to lecture :
(8,4)+ (9,4)
TQR-89=
(8,4) +(8,5)+ (9+4)+(9,5)
x100
Vicious Circle Ratio (VC)/Area F
It indicate teacher’s restrictive behaviour involving
direction and self-justification, which is sensitive
to difficulties faced by the teacher when the
students are not complying satisfactorily :
(6,6)+ (6,7)+(7,6)+(7,7)
VC
=
x100
N
Advantages of FIAC
 Dr. M.B. Buch says, it is “ a bold step in the right
direction to improve the quality of education.”
• Feedback to the teacher
• Observation technique for classroom behaviour
• Useful for theory of teaching
• Effective diagnostic tool to measure the socialemotional climate in the classroom
Precautions in use of Flanders
Interaction analysis:

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The classroom encoding work should be done by an observer,
who is familiar with entire process and knows its limitations.
It is an exploratory device therefore value judgments about
good and bad teaching behaviors are to be avoided. This
technique is not an evaluator device of classroom teaching.
The questions regarding classroom teaching can only be
answered by inspecting the matrix table. The observer cannot
answer the question relating to teacher behavior.
A comparison between the two matrices can be reliability
terms of behavior ratios, interaction variables and percentage
of frequencies in each category and calls frequency but value
judgment is not possible.
The accuracy of the observation depends upon the reliability of
the observer. The classroom recording should be done after
estimating the reliability of observers.
At least two observers should encode the classroom interaction
for analyzing teaching and teacher behavior.
Limitations of Flanders interaction
analysis
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1. The system does not describe the totality of the classroom activity. Some
behavior is always over looked and who is to say that the unrecorded aspects of the
teaching act are more important than those recorded.
2.
Efforts to describe teaching are often interpreted as evaluation of the teaching
act and of the teacher. While descriptions may be used as a basis of evaluation,
judgment can be made only after additional value assumptions are identified and
applied to the data.
3. The system of interaction analysis is content-free. It is concerned primarily,
with social skills of classroom management as expressed through verbal
communication.
4.
It is costly and cumbersome and requires some form of automation in
collecting and analyzing the raw data. It is not a finished research tool.
5.
Much of the inferential power of this system of interaction analysis comes
from tabulating the data as sequence pairs in a 10 x 10 matrix. This is a time
consuming process.
6.
Once the high cost of tedious tabulation (electric computers) is under control
but the problem of training reliable observers and maintaining their reliability will
still remain.
7.
Its potential as a research tool for a wide application to problems is to be
explored.
The system devotes little attention to student talk and focuses a great deal of
attention on direct/ indirect nature of Teachers performance. It is considered a great
drawback of Flanders system.
References:
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Sampath K., Panneerselvam A. & Santhanam
S. (2007),Introduction to Educational
Technology, Sterling Publishers Private
Limited, New Delhi (pp 53-64).
Dr. Y.K. Singh, Dr. T.K. Sharma& Dr. Brijiesh
Upadhaya (2008), Educational Technology:
Teaching Learning, A P H Publishing
Corporation, New Delhi (pp 263-280).