Background: The style of teaching in physical education classes is very important for students’ participation in physical activity. However, the impact of teaching styles in online physical education classes during the COVID-19 pandemic is not well understood. The purpose of the current research was to investigate the associations between teaching style in online physical education with needs satisfaction, motivation, enjoyment, and intention to be physically active in adolescent students. Gender differences were also computed.

Methods: The current study applied a descriptive-correlation approach. The participants were 384 high-school students (192 boys and 192 girls) from Golestan province, Iran in 2020. Data was gathered using standard questionnaires. Correlation test and structural equation modeling were used to examine the associations among variables and Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to examine gender differences.

Results: Descriptive data demonstrated that boys and girls had almost identical age. Results demonstrated that perceived needs support was positively associated with psychological need satisfaction (T=12.169), motivation (T=4.467), enjoyment (T=7.257), and intention (T=4.657). Moreover, psychological need satisfaction was associated with motivation (T=7.019), enjoyment (T=5.607), and intention (T=4.230). Furthermore, motivation was associated with enjoyment (T=6.967) and intention (T=7.128). Finally, enjoyment was associated with intention to physical activity (T=15.130).

Conclusion: Perceived needs support is directly associated with motivating students to be physically active during online physical education.