Spicing up the classroom: how one subject turned the tide

At the best of times the study of statistics for many students has had a reputation for being boring, irrelevant and just plain too difficult. Sometimes deservedly so. But it doesn't have to be this way since there are many exciting opportunities to demonstrate its power and application by using situations that are both challenging and stimulating. This paper looks at some of the techniques that were used to make the lecture theatre and classroom a more effective place of learning that led to an astonishing Australian success story. There have been questions raised among academics about the usefulness of the traditional lecture approach that has been used for many years at universities and other tertiary institutions. With increasing calls from some quarters to embrace modem technology and move to more interactive and flexible learning systems, the results obtained in this instance clearly demonstrate that such radical changes can actually work.