Announcing the October 2025 meeting of the WA Branch of the Statistical Society of Australia. Our guest speaker is Dr Alethea Rea, Senior Lecturer in the School of Mathematics, Statistics, Chemistry and Physics at Murdoch University.

Date: Tuesday, 14 October 2025
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Room 002 (Innovation Hub), Building 360 (Boola Katitjin), Murdoch University.

Presentation

A Fresh Approach to Teaching First-year Statistics: Flipped Classroom Mode Teaching Paired with Programming Changes

Dr Alethea Rea, Senior Lecturer, Murdoch University

At Murdoch University, a first-year statistics course for life and computing science majors was originally taught with a “foundations first” approach, covering descriptive statistics, probability, distributions, and sampling before inference topics. However, some students struggled to see the relevance of the earlier material, and linear regression was presented in a single week late in the unit. Therefore, the course was redesigned with a “regression first” approach, framing the statistical process around simple linear regression, going in depth into five core steps: visualisation, hypotheses, assumptions, testing, and intervals. Supporting concepts (like distributions and probability) are introduced “just in time” along the way. In this framework, a two-sample t-test is presented as regression with a categorical explanatory variable, preparing students for advanced regression in later studies. This talk will cover the delivery style (flipped mode), revised content, and the impact of adopting a regression-first design on student engagement and outcomes.

About the Speaker

Alethea is a Senior Lecturer in Statistics at Murdoch University, where she teaches applied statistics and leads a four-year program overhaul of the undergraduate curriculum. Her teaching is centred on first-year statistics, with a focus on innovative approaches to improve student outcomes. She also collaborates on research projects in the life and health sciences, most recently being part of a team awarded an ARC Linkage focused on plant community completeness in monitoring of post-mining restoration. Alethea has held roles in academia and industry, including as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Statistics at the University of Western Australia. She holds a PhD in Statistics from the University of Auckland.

Meeting directions

The meeting will be held at the Perth campus of Murdoch University which can be reached via the Kwinana Freeway, exiting on South Street, and heading west towards Fremantle.

Parking is free on the Murdoch Perth campus after 5:00PM in red and green zones. The closest carpark is Car Park 8, accessible from Discovery Way via the Murdoch Drive entrance to campus on the east.

Innovation Hub (Room 002) is found on level 3 of Building 360, also known as Boola Katitjin. From the northern main entrance of the building head south along the length of the building until you reach the lifts, then head right through double doors and find the Innovation Hub on your left. From the southern approach, ride the escalators to level 3 and follow the signage to the Innovation Hub. See: Murdoch Map.

Refreshments

Members, visitors, and guests are invited to mingle over wine and cheese from 5:30PM. These will be served in the scenic staff area accessed through the rear door of the meeting venue.

Dinner

Following the meeting everyone is invited to dine with the speaker and fellow attendees at Bateman Chinese Eating House, 6/22 Parry Avenue, Bateman, WA (Google Maps).

For further information please contact the WA Branch Secretary (ssa.wa.secretary@gmail.com).