A descriptive analysis of activity structures in high school health education classes

The extent of use of activity structures in high school health education classes was examined. Twenty health educators from high schools in a large southwestern city agreed to have their classes observed on four separate occasions. Trained individuals observed, coded, and timed various classroom activities using a standardized coding form. Across all 80 observations, most classroom time was spent in Teacher Presentation of Content (23.4%), Seatwork (23.1%), or Media Presentation (15.6%). Little classroom time was used in Student Presentation (.3%) or Behavioral Presentation (.02%). The project goal was to provide baseline observational data into health education classroom activities. From this initial quantitative description of activity structures, correlational and experimental studies can be designed to link these activity patterns with student outcomes in health instruction.