Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Mar;85(3):141-8.
doi: 10.1111/josh.12233.

Physical activity in physical education: are longer lessons better?

Nicole J Smith  1 , Shannon M Monnat, Monica A F Lounsbery
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Physical activity in physical education: are longer lessons better?

Nicole J Smith et al. J Sch Health. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare physical activity (PA) outcomes in a sample of high school (HS) physical education (PE) lessons from schools that adopted traditional versus modified block schedule formats.

Methods: We used the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) to conduct observations of 168 HS PE lessons delivered by 22 PE teachers in 4 schools. T-tests and multilevel models were used to explore variability in moderate PA and vigorous PA.

Results: PA outcomes were significantly different between modified block and traditional schools. Students who attended traditional schools engaged in more vigorous PA in PE lessons. Modified block lessons lost more scheduled lesson time due to poor transition to and from the locker room. PA outcomes were positively associated with fitness and teacher promotion of PA and negatively associated with lost time, class size, management, and knowledge.

Conclusions: Although PE proponents widely advocate for more PE minutes, this study showed that greater time scheduled in PE does not necessarily result in more student accrual of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) minutes.

Keywords: MVPA; SOFIT; physical activity; physical education.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Healthy People 2010. 2. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2000. [Accessed June 7, 2014]. Available at: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2010/?visit=1.
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; 1996. [Accessed June 12, 2014]. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/pdf/sgrfull.pdf.
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC: USDHHS; 2008. [Accessed June 7, 2014]. Available at: http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) Youth risk behavior surveillance–United States, 2011. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2012;61(SS-4):1–166.
    1. Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations to increase physical activity in communities. Am J Prev Med. 2002;22(4S):67–72. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources