Dr Kath O'Brien
Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences
Biography
Dr. Katherine (Kath) O’Brien is a performance development-technology leader with a strong interest in adult and adolescent learning. Her cutting-edge designs for performance development using AI-enhanced video feedback and 360-degree camera vision resulted in Kath being recently named in the Power100 List as one of Australia’s leading women shaping sport’s innovation by the Australian Sports Technology Network. Kath's applied research and current collaborative projects with both recreational and high-performance sports is framed by her background as a long-standing National Coach, State Coaching Panel Chairperson, and role as a Health and Physical Education teacher. Her work has been showcased nationally and internationally through the AIS-Sport Australia Sports Technology and Applied Research (STARS) Symposium, International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) Conferences, Exercise Science Symposiums, and International Congress of Sport Psychology events. Kath recently won the prestigious QUT Technology Innovation Pitching Competition (ExCOLO) and an Australian University Award for Teaching Excellence. Kath was also awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence, being named the QUT David Gardiner 'Teacher of the Year' and recently, the QUT Researcher Symposium Oral Presentation Competition. Aiming to create deeper discussion and research around how sport officials develop their craft, Kath created the Australian Sport Officiating Summit (ASOS) hosted online at QUT. Kath is also the co-founder of the QUT Women in Sport Leadership Conference in partnership with QUT Sport.Kath’s research interests include:
- Impact of digital technology for learning practical content online.
- Artificially Intelligent (AI) methods for analysing 360-degree vision.
- Extracting head impact events from 360-video using AI techniques.
- Female athlete learning - coaches, sport officials & athletes.
- Social-neuroscientific influences on coach learning & development.
Project/Publication Highlights:
- Reimagining the role of technology in sport officiating: how AI supports the design of ecologically dynamic learning environments
- The Element of Surprise: How Predictive Processing Can Help Coach Practitioners Understand and Develop Skilled Movement in Sport Settings
- Seen but not heard: missing the mark in conceptualizing high performance officials
- The issue of unconscious bias in referee decisions in the National Rugby League
- The development of craft in Australian National Rugby (NRL) league referees
Award Highlights:
- 2023 - QUT Researcher Symposium Oral Presentation Competition (FoH)
- 2022 - QUT Research Innovation Grant - Pitching Competition
- 2022 - Australian Universities Award for Teaching Excellence (AAUT) - ECR
- 2021 - QUT Faculty of Health - Early/Mid Career Research Grant Scheme
- 2020 - QUT Vice Chancellor Award - David Gardiner QUT Teacher of the Year
Personal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Health,
School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences
Keywords
Sport Pedagogy, Learning, Performance, Education Systems, Technology, Sport Officiating, Sport Coaching
Research field
Curriculum and Pedagogy, Education Systems, Human Movement and Sports Science
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
- Editorial Board - International Sport Coaching Journal
- Sport Australia - Industry Advisory Group - Officiating
- Sport Australia - Coach & Officiating Steering Committee
- Creator and organiser - Australian Sport Officiating Summit (ASOS)
- Co-Founder - QUT Women in Leadership Conference (with QUT Sport)
Teaching
Current Teaching:
- Senior Lecturer - Faculty of Health (School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences)
- Senior Fellow - Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Unit Coordinator Roles - XNB189, XNB197, XNB199; XNB299; XNB390; EUB107
- Previous Units Taught - XNB174; XNB188; XNB296; EUB420
- Chairperson / Panel Member - QTPA
Previous Employment and Teaching:
- Casual Academic - University of Queensland (Post-graduate Master of Coaching)
- Casual Academic and Unit Coordinator - University of New England (UNE)
- Head of Department (HOD) - HPE and Sport
- Deputy Principal
- Secondary Teacher - HPE, Chemistry, Biological Science, Sport & Fitness, Dance
- Board Member - Touch Football Queensland
- Chairperson - Coach Committee / Toowoomba Touch Association
- Executive Officer - Queensland Touch (SWQ)
Experience
- Australian Coach - Men's & Women's Teams - Touch Football
- Chair - Touch Football Queensland Coaching Panel
- Member - National Touch Football Coaching Panel
- Member - Womensport Toowoomba Panel
Publications
- O’Brien, K. & O’Keeffe, M. (2022). Reimagining the role of technology in sport officiating: how artificial intelligence (AI) supports the design and delivery of ecologically dynamic development processes. Managing Sport and Leisure. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/232850
- O'Brien, K., (2022). Positioning Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the pedagogical platform for sport officiating development. Presented at: International Congress of the French Society of Sport Psychology. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/232810
- O'Brien, K. & Mangan, J. (2021). The Issue of Unconscious Bias in Referee Decisions in the National Rugby League. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/213908
- O'Brien, K. & Rynne, S. (2021). Seen but not heard: Missing the mark in conceptualizing high performance officiating. Sport in Society, 24(7), 1110–1121. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/199990
- O’Brien, K., Rynne, S. & Mallett, C. (2023). The development of craft in Australian National Rugby League referees. Sport, Education and Society, 28(4), 420–433. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/227758
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Kath, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Fellowship of a Learned Academy or Membership of AIATSIS
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- Fellowship awarded to International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (IFNTF)
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- VC Award for Excellence: David Gardiner Teacher of the Year
- Type
- Fellowship of a Learned Academy or Membership of AIATSIS
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Senior Fellowship Award (SFHEA)
- Type
- Funding Award
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- QUT - Faculty of Health, ECR Award Grant ($20 000)
- Type
- Funding Award
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- AAUT Award Grant, ECR Teaching Award Winner ($15 000)
- Type
- Reviewer for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- Sport, Education and Society
- Type
- Reviewer for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- International Journal of Sport Science and Coaching
Supervision
Looking for a postgraduate research supervisor?
I am currently accepting research students for Honours, Masters and PhD study.
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