STUDENTS PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY LEVELS AND TEACHERS ACTIVE SUPERVISION DURING FITNESS INSTRUCTION

Active supervision patterns of 18 elementary physical educators were s tudied in relation to physical activity levels of 3 students per teach er (n = 54) during allotted fitness time. Activity level was measured using the system for observing fitness instruction time (SOFIT) activi ty categories. Results showed that during fitness instruction teachers spent over 90% of the time in peripheral areas of the gym, actively m oved about (7.9 sector changes per minute), and provided augmented fee dback to students (3.7 total rpm). Students' most pre dominant activit y levels were very active, standing, and walking, respectively. Studen ts' moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels averaged 51.9 %. Higher percentages of peripheral positioning and demonstrating by t eachers correlated with lower amounts of standing still and higher amo unts of very active and MVPA behavior. Higher rates of corrective feed back correlated with higher levels of students' walking and MVPA behav ior.