Classroom observation code

Student-Teacher Interaction Code

STIC

Mark R. Shinn, Ph.D.

Data-Based Consulting, Inc.

About the author

Mark R. Shinn, Ph.D., is President of Data-Based Consulting, Inc., which since 1983 has provided consultation and staff development to schools across the country, and Professor Emeritus of School Psychology at National Louis University. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (School Psychology) from the University of Minnesota in 1981, working with Jim Ysseldyke and Stan Deno at the Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities. He then spent 19 years as a professor of School Psychology and Special Education at the University of Oregon and 19 years at National Louis University, preparing school psychologists to support students within a Problem-Solving and MTSS model.

Dr. Shinn is a leader in the development and use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) for data-based decision making. He has edited the original CBM books and three editions of NASP's Interventions for Academic and Behavior Problems, published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, contributed to the early development of DIBELS and aimsweb, and consulted with schools and state departments of education in 45 states. He received the APA Division 16 Jack Bardon Award for Distinguished Career Contributions in 2003.

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About the STIC

Identifying performance discrepancies from an ecological perspective

The Student-Teacher Interaction Code (STIC) was developed to enable educators to compare a student of concern's critical classroom behaviors to those of classroom peers, to identify potential Performance Discrepancies. Rather than looking at the student in isolation, the STIC takes an ecological perspective: it records the student's behavior together with the classroom interactions that surround it, between the teacher and the student and between the student and peers.

0–10 s Engagement ONLY Engaged (E) is recorded only in the first 10 seconds. Nothing else is recorded here.

10–30 s Critical behavior interactions ONLY Only the critical behaviors below are recorded in the remaining 20 seconds. Engagement is not recorded here.

First 10 seconds

Engagement only

Engaged (E) is judged only during the first 10 seconds of each 30-second interval (engaged for about 7 of the 10 seconds). It is marked once per interval and reported as the percent of intervals engaged. Engagement is not recorded in the remaining 20 seconds.

Remaining 20 seconds

Teacher-Student interactions

Teacher Group and Individual Directions (GD, ID) with compliance, Teacher Group and Individual Questions (TGQ, TIQ) with correct or incorrect responses, and the student's Academic Talk (SAT) and Non-Academic talk (STI) with the teacher.

Remaining 20 seconds

Student-Peer interactions and Out of Place

Peer Interaction (PI) and Physical Contact (PC), each coded positive (+) or negative (−), and Out of Place (OP).

All behaviors recorded in the remaining 20 seconds, including Out of Place, can be marked up to three times per interval and are reported as frequency counts and rate per minute, not as a percent of intervals.

How the comparison works

In each 30-second interval, the observer codes the student of concern and a comparison peer, either a selected peer or a composite of rotating peers.
The critical behaviors recorded in the remaining 20 seconds, including Out of Place, can be counted up to three times within an interval, so the STIC reports actual frequencies and rates of behavior, not just whether a behavior occurred.
Placing the student's results next to peers in the same classroom, with the same teacher and activity, shows whether a behavior is truly discrepant, which validates the problem.
The code is easy to learn, reliable, and needs few materials. Observers show little decay over a 20–30 minute observation.

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Student-Teacher Interaction Code

About the author

Identifying performance discrepancies from an ecological perspective

Engagement only

Teacher-Student interactions

Student-Peer interactions and Out of Place

How the comparison works

Observation details

All intervals

Summary table

Target vs. peer comparison

Behavior frequency: target vs. peer

Engaged time across the observation

Code structure

License and devices

Install the STIC on this device

iPad and iPhone (Safari)

Android (Chrome)

Windows, Mac, Chromebook (Chrome or Edge)

Mac (Safari)