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"We have too many first-year statistics students but too few who choose to major in statistics" is a common complaint among academics in the discipline of statistics, and our department is no exception. Many non-statistics academics appreciate the value of statistics to their discipline and include at least one statistics unit in their required units. However, students in such units often do not see the use of statistics within their discipline or the importance of learning statistics or quantitative skills in general, despite the current shortage of statisticians and deluge of data to be analysed. Our student numbers decline sharply by years of study, from first to second and from second to third. A handful of students who decide to major in statistics or decision science find themselves in high demand. In early 2016, just before the first semester started, we ran an event for the previous year's successful first-year statistics students to encourage more students to choose statistics or decision science as a second major in addition to their existing majors. We worked with our alumni so that the second-year students heard talks mainly by people like them instead of like us -- their lecturers. We called this event 'Statistics: Your Ticket to Anywhere'. In this paper, we describe how we structured the event, its outcomes for the department, and how it helped us to "unveil the curtain" and to show the value of statistics to the students in their chosen fields of study.

Opening Real Science (ORS) is a three-year government initiative developed as part of the Mathematics and Science Teachers program. It is a collaboration across universities involving teacher educators, scientists, mathematicians, statisticians and educational designers aimed at improving primary and secondary pre-service teachers' competence and confidence in mathematics and science. The ORS project has developed 25 online learning modules for pre-service teacher programs. Statistical literacy is prioritised. The Statistical Literacy Module for Primary Teachers (SL-P) adopts an inquiry-based approach and uses resources and contexts relevant to their practice. This paper documents the development and evaluation process of SL-P from its conception to implementation, and reviews the initial trials.

The aim of the current study was to provide evidence that an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) was invariant across different languages and educational contexts in measuring university students' learning approaches to statistics. Data were collected on samples of university students attending undergraduate introductory statistics courses in five countries (Argentina, Italy, Australia, Turkey, and Vietnam). Using factor analysis, we confirmed the three-factor (Deep, Surface, and Strategic approach) model holds across the five samples, and we provided evidence of configural and measurement invariance. The current version of the ASSIST for statistics learners is a suitable scale for researchers and teachers working in the field of statistics education and represents promising tool for multinational studies on approaches to learning statistics.

Purpose: While the natural expectation is that students seek greater depth of learning as they develop intellectually during their studies, some research calls this into question and even suggests that student learning can become shallower from year to year. The present study aims to investigate the relative depth of students' learning at different stages of their undergraduate studies by comparing second-year with third-year students in two statistics units. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted using Biggs's Study Process Questionnaire. The survey results were used to compare second- and third-year groups, as well as to investigate other variables by comparing the performances of: international and domestic students, male and female students, students who worked and those who did not work, and students who intended to register for a higher degree and those who did not. Findings: Significant differences in approaches were found between male and female students; and between students who intended to enrol in a higher degree and those who did not. Research limitations/implications: Characteristics of the learning and teaching environment, including quality of teaching, were not investigated in this study. These and the possibility of students' mixed approaches to learning depending on the unit of study might have significant impact on the results. Additionally, this study is specific to one Sydney university; therefore the results might not be generalisable. Originality/value: The findings from this study provide evidence that there is no significant difference between second and third year; or in international and local students' approaches to learning in statistics. (Contains 2 figures.)

Virtual reality (VR) technology can increase prosocial behaviour toward a target person or group by enhancing their empathic response for the subject, but such technology has not always improved learning outcomes. This interdisciplinary study compared the potential advantages of delivering the same learning material about daily life in an ancient Greek household via two modes of delivery: VR technology and classroom lecture. The VR group explored a Greek villa containing historical artefacts and virtual characters with whom they were able to interact through set dialogues. The dialogues illustrated social hierarchies, gender relations, the situation of slaves, cult practice, and religious beliefs. The classroom group received the same information in a classroom environment. Both randomly-assigned groups answered a multiple-choice quiz to evaluate the knowledge gained. They also responded to open-text questions designed to test the degree of empathy that was aroused. We found that classroom lecture delivery was significantly superior in terms of the acquisition of factual knowledge, consistent with cognitive learning theory. We identified this as learning with the mind. The immersive VR environment, however, imparted a level of empathic response to the lived experiences of people in ancient Greece; in that sense it allowed learning with the heart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]