Flander's Interaction Analysis Categories System (Fiacs)

FLANDER’S INTERACTION
ANALYSIS CATEGORIES
SYSTEM (FIACS)
definition
• Ned. A. Flanders defines, “Teaching as an

interactive process. Interaction means
participation of teacher and students in the
process of teaching”.
• It means, in the process of teaching, everybody

interacts with every other person involved in
the process.
• Teacher influences students through
lecture, ask questions, criticizing, giving
directions etc.
• Student’s reacted to the teacher’s lecture
and questions, they give responses.
• It is interaction between teachers and
students.
WHAT IS INTERACTION ANALYSIS?
Interaction analysis is a process of

encoding and decoding a pattern of
interaction between the communicator
and the receiver.
Four important techniques
1. Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories

System (FIACS)
2. Reciprocal Category System (RCS)
3. Equivalent Talk Categories (ETC)
4. Verbal Interaction Category System (VICS)
CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERACTION
ANALYSIS
1. The classroom verbal interaction can be made
more effective.
2. The teacher can increase student participation
in his teaching.
3. The direct behavior of teacher may be shifted
to indirect behavior, which is more suitable in
democratic way of life.
4. The tape recorder and videotape can be used
for recording the classroom events. The trainee
can encode and decode his own behavior.
5. This technique can also be combined with
other feedback device such as microteaching
and simulated teaching.
• Ned. A. Flanders developed a system of
interaction analysis to study what is
happening in a classroom when a teacher
teaches. It is known as Flanders Interaction
Analysis Categories System (FIACS).
• Flanders and others developed this system at
the University of Minnesota, U.S.A. between
1955 and 1960.
• Flanders classified total verbal behavior into
10 categories. Verbal behavior comprises
teacher talk, student talk and silence or
confusion
• The ten categories are mentioned as under:
• 1. Teacher Talk – 7 categories
• 2. Pupil Talk – 2 categories
• 3. Silence or Confusion- 1 category
MEANING OF VARIOUS CATEGORIES
1. Teacher Talk (7 Categories)
A) Indirect Talk
In this method of analysis, the first four categories
represent the teacher’s indirect influence.
Category 1: Accepts Feelings

In this category, teacher accepts the feelings of the
pupils.
He feels himself that the pupils should not be punished
for exhibiting his feelings
Category 2: Praise or Encouragement
Teacher praises or encourages student action
or behavior.
When a student gives answer to the question
asked by the teacher, the teacher gives positive
reinforcement by saying words like ‘good’,
‘very good’, ‘better’, ‘correct’, ‘excellent’,
‘carry on’, etc.
Category 3: Accepts or Uses ideas of Pupils
• It is just like 1st category. But in this category,
the pupils ideas are accepted only and not his
feelings.
• If a pupil passes on some suggestions, then the
teacher may repeat in nutshell in his own style or
words.
• The teacher can say, ‘I understand what you
mean’ etc. Or the teacher clarifies, builds or
develops ideas or suggestions given by a student.
Category 4: Asking Questions
• Asking question about content or procedures,
based on the teacher ideas and expecting an
answer from the pupil.
• Sometimes, teacher asks the question but he
carries on his lecture without receiving any
answer. Such questions are not included in this
category.
Category 5: Lecturing /Lecture
Giving facts or opinions about content
or procedure expression of his own ideas,
giving his own explanation or citing an
authority other than a pupil.
Category 6: Giving Directions
• The teacher gives directions, commands
or orders or initiation with which a
pupil/student is expected to comply with,
• Open your books.
• Stand up on the benches.
Category 7: Criticizing or Justifying
Authority
• When the teacher asks the pupils not to
interrupt with foolish questions, then this
behavior is included in this category.
• Teacher’s ‘what’ and ‘why’ also come under
this category
Pupil Talk (2 Categories)
Category 8: Pupil Talk Response
• It includes the pupils talk in response to
teacher’s talk
• Teacher asks question, student gives answer to
the question.
Category 9: Pupil Talk Initiation
• Talk by pupils that they initiate.
• Expressing own ideas; initiating a new
topic; freedom to develop opinions and a
line of thought like asking thoughtful
questions; going beyond the existing
structure.
3. Silence or Pause or Confusion (1 Category)
Category 10: Silence or Pause or Confusion
• Pauses, short periods of silence and period of
confusion in which communication cannot be
understood by the observer.
• Rule 1: If more than one type of category
occurs during a 3 second period, the observer
should choose the category that is
numerically farther from category 5 (but not
category 10). Suppose the observer is in doubt
whether the category is 2 or 3; he should
write 2 categories.
• Rule 2: The observer should not involve his
personal viewpoint.
• Rule 3: If more than one category is active in
a span of 3 seconds, and then all the
categories should be recorded. If after 3
seconds, no category changes, then the same
serial number should be repeated in the next
3 seconds.
• Rule 4: If the time period of silence exceeds 3
seconds, it should be recorded under the
category No.10
• Rule 5: When teacher calls a child by name,
the observer is supposed to record a 4th
category.
• Rule 6: When the teacher repeats the
student’s answer and the answer is a correct,
that is recorded as a category No. 2. This tells
the student that he has the right answer and
therefore functions as praise or
encouragement.
• Rule 7: When a teacher listens to a pupil and
accepts his ideas for a discussion, then this
behavior belongs to category No. 3.
• Rule 8: The words ‘All is ok’, ‘yes’, ‘yah’,
‘hum’, ‘alright’ etc. belong to the category
No. 2. (Encouragement)
• Rule 9: If a teacher jokes without aiming at
any pupil, this behavior belongs to the
category No. 2. But if he makes any joke
aiming at some particular pupil, then it
belongs to the category No. 7.
• Rule 10: When all the pupils respond to a
very small question collectively, then the
serial number of category-8 is recorded.
ADVANTAGES OF FIACS
1. It is an effective tool /instrument to measure the

social-emotional climate in the classroom.
2. It is also used for in-service teachers.
3. It provides feedback to the pupil-teachers.
4. It is an objective and reliable method for observation
of classroom teaching.
5. It is mostly teacher talk oriented.
6. It is used to compare the behavior of teachers at
different age levels, gender, subject etc.
7. It is much useful in team teaching and microteaching.
LIMITATIONS OF FIACS
1. It consumes much time in preparing 10 x 10 matrix

without which, interpretation is not possible.
2. Less attention has been paid towards pupil-talk.
3. The observers have to be trained in order to code
correctly.
4. Classroom interaction of pupil-pupil type is not
considered here.
5. The system of coding and decoding procedure very
difficult and expensive
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FLANDER’S INTERACTION

• Ned. A. Flanders defines, “Teaching as an

• It means, in the process of teaching, everybody

Interaction analysis is a process of

1. Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories

Category 1: Accepts Feelings

1. It is an effective tool /instrument to measure the

1. It consumes much time in preparing 10 x 10 matrix

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