Many years ago, I had the idea to go into statistical education with the dream of designing my own courses. It has been a long path to get there, via tutoring, a PhD and lecturing, but this dream didn’t fit into the academic system.

I wanted to deliver lessons that would make statistics accessible to everyone, especially those without a mathematical background. Teaching in a way that would highlight how statistics is applied in practice, with as many visual components and examples as possible, and avoiding formulae that might scare learners off. 

That’s why I started a business called Simplify Stats, and last month I delivered my very first course.

This was a course that was fully designed by me, free of university guidelines, assessment criterion and uninterested attendees only there to obtain a pass. Each participant signed up for the sake of learning, valuing that enough to invest their time and money in four afternoon sessions on top of their busy careers. For example, one gentleman signed up so that he could better understand his daughter’s PhD project and the statistics it entails.

I wish I could bottle up the energy and exhilaration in the room as each fundamental element clicked. The satisfaction felt as they finally understood why error margins are important, what those “(p<0.05)” references in the articles they brought from home or work actually mean, and how crucial a study’s design is. They also now have a greater appreciation of the phrase “Lies, damned lies and statistics”.

This has been a truly liberating experience and has reminded me why I love both teaching and statistics!

My course design and teaching style draws on the many experiences I have from my own undergraduate and postgraduate stats subjects through to working as a statistician across different fields for over a decade, as well as tutoring at almost every university in Sydney. Thank you to all the lecturers, colleagues and students who have influenced both my love of stats and how I teach.

Now that I’ve got the Intro to Stats course up and running I am already looking forward to designing the next courses, so if you know anyone who would like to Simplify Stats – send them my way!