Brad Strand, professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences, and Angela Senne, former graduate student, had a manuscript titled “Physical Education Teacher Education Students’ Knowledge of Appropriate Instructional Strategies and Perceived Practice of their High School Physical Education teachers” published in the Missouri Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
The study surveyed physical education teacher education majors in North Dakota colleges and universities. It asked students to determine if a series of described instructional strategies was appropriate or inappropriate for use in K-12 physical education classes and to identify the frequency with which they thought their high school teachers used the instructional strategies.
“The students were very knowledgeable about instructional strategies,” Strand said. “These students reported that their school teachers always or often used inappropriate strategies almost 40 percent of the time. The most telling, however, was that student identification of appropriate or inappropriate strategies was significantly associated with the practices of their school teachers.”
According to Strand, the findings have significance for the preparation of physical education teacher educators in that many students believe that what their school teachers practiced is acceptable, no matter if the practices were appropriate or not. “Twelve or more years of induction prior to teacher education training significantly impact the beliefs of teacher education students,” Strand explained. “One challenge for university teacher educators is to help students in teacher training to know and understand best practices and then to ensure that best practice is followed as these students begin their professional careers.”
Strand joined NDSU as the chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation in 1996. His research focuses on fitness education, ethics and sportsmanship and appropriate instruction for children and youth engaged in K-12 physical education and sport programs. He typically teaches graduate courses that include Supervision and Analysis of Teaching Physical Education, Curriculum in Physical Education and a seminar in sport ethics.
Strand is a member of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, among others. He has conducted more than 175 national, regional and state presentations, workshops and demonstrations related to physical education, fitness education, technology in physical education, sport specialization, ethics and sportsmanship and confrontations in sport.
He is the lead author of three books and co-writer of two booklets on fitness education. Strand has published more than 80 professional articles and abstracts on physical education, fitness education and technology in physical education.