Flander’s interaction analysis

1. Flander’s interaction analysis PRESENTED BY: Sukhwinder Singh Cheema, Assistant Professor Department of Economics and Education Technology Doraha College Of Education, Doraha

2. Dimension of interactionAccording to Daniel G. Bobrow, there are three dimensions of interaction.1.communication2. Coordination3. Integration

3. Interaction Analysis: Interaction analysis is a processs of encoding and decoding the study pattern of teaching and learning process of classroom.

4. A typical system for interaction analysis will usually include 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.

5. 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.”

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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 .

13. 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 self-reliance. 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.

14. 10. Silence or confusion: 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. • Pauses, short periods of confusion in which communication cannot be understood by the observer.

15. Procedure of Flander’s Interaction Analysis: • 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.

16. 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 phraseof 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 representsor communication event just completed

17. 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.

18. 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

19. 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’.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 10 5 9 6 5 5 5 5 4 8 10 1 3 6 8 9 4 1 5 7 2 10

24. Tabulating a matrix

25. Interpreting the matrix:

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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= x100 N

29. Pupil Talk (PT)/ Area C It concerns pupils’ verbal activities in response to the teacher: Total of categories 8 to 9 DTT= x100 N

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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= x100 N

36. 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

37. 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)

38. 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)

39. 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= x100 (8,4) +(8,5)+ (9+4)+(9,5)

40. 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

41. 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 social-emotional climate in the classroom

42. Precautions in use of Flanders Interaction analysis: • 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.

43. Limitations of Flanders interaction analysis • 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.

44. References: • 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).