Rate My Professor Wendy Piltz

Ms Wendy Piltz serves as Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education in the School of Education, College of Education, Behavioural and Social Sciences at Adelaide University. She commenced her university teaching career at the University of South Australia in July 1989, delivering courses in the Human Movement program and Bachelor of Education programs that prepare primary, middle, and secondary teachers for Health and Physical Education. Over her extensive career, Piltz has built a formidable national and international reputation in sport pedagogy and coach education. Her collaborations include work with Human Kinetics on the American Sport Education Program, the Australian Sports Commission, State Offices of Sport and Recreation, SA Department of Education, Training and Employment, Catholic Education Office, the Australian Football League, Womens Lacrosse Australia, Australian Touch Association, and SA National Football League. These partnerships have enabled her to contribute significantly to professional development in coaching and teaching across various sports and educational contexts.

Piltz's research specializations encompass pedagogy in Health and Physical Education, group dynamics and choice theory, game pedagogy, play practice, bench coaching, quality learning environments, and group skills development, as well as broader areas of sport pedagogy and coach education. Her scholarly output includes the influential co-authored book Play Practice: Engaging and Developing Skilled Players from Beginner to Elite (2nd edition, Human Kinetics, 2013) with Alan G. Launder, which advances innovative approaches to skill development in games. Key journal articles feature Unpacking Games Teaching: What Do Teachers Need to Know? (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 89(4), 39-44, 2018) with P. Ward and H. Lehwald; Beyond Understanding to Skilful Play in Games, through Play Practice (Journal of Physical Education New Zealand, 2006) with A. Launder; Lab School as a Teaching Strategy in Physical Education Teacher Education (The ACHPER Healthy Lifestyles Journal, 2007) with R. Garrett and A. Wrench; and articles on games of low organisation (Sports Coach, 2005). She edited Asia Pacific Conference on Teaching Sport and Physical Education for Understanding 2006 (University of Sydney, 2007) and contributed chapters such as Play Practice: An Innovative Model for Engaging and Developing Skilled Players in Sport (in Contemporary Developments in Games Teaching, Routledge, 2013) and Teaching and Coaching using a 'Play Practice' Approach (in Teaching Games for Understanding in Physical Education and Sport, 2003). Numerous conference papers further document her work, including presentations on teaching lacrosse using play practice principles and applying choice theory to enhance student outcomes in group dynamics (2002-2007). Her contributions have shaped pedagogical practices in physical education and coaching.