When I joined Aston in 2022, I was asked to take on the statistics teaching for second-year biosciences students – an area with consistently poor attainment and negative student feedback. Statistics was widely perceived as something to be endured rather than engaged with, and students often entered the module anxious and resistant. While I recognised the importance of statistics for bioscience graduates, I was honest with myself that I did not want to teach it in a traditional way. My goal was therefore to improve students’ confidence and skills in data analysis and to fundamentally shift how they felt about statistics.

To achieve this, I deliberately designed a playful learning intervention: an Excel-based escape room focused on descriptive statistics and basic data analysis. The idea emerged following conversations at a playful teaching conference, where escape rooms were discussed as a way to foster collaboration and problem-solving. Although initially unsure whether an escape room could work within Excel, I was intrigued by the possibility of using a familiar, accessible tool to create an engaging and skills-focused experience. Whilst Excel is not the most advanced statistical software, it has a low learning curve, is freely available to students, and is highly relevant to the kinds of data analysis and administrative tasks students encounter in later projects and employment. I designed a series of sequential puzzles embedded within Excel that required students to use core functions and features through exploration and trial-and-error, rather than step-by-step instruction. Password-protected files ensured teams had to work together, discuss solutions, and support each other before moving on.

The escape room was delivered as a facilitated, in-person session with physical elements such as hint tokens and locked prizes to enhance immersion. I was open with students that this was a new and experimental approach, explicitly framing it as a low-stakes opportunity to consolidate learning. This transparency helped reduce anxiety and created a shared sense of curiosity. Communication within the classroom changed dramatically: students moved around the room, discussed strategies across teams, and became visibly invested in solving problems together, regardless of whether they were working with friends.

In its first year, the statistics class test pass rate increased from approximately 75% to 97%, and the mean mark rose from around 57% to 67% following implementation. Post-session surveys highlight both improved confidence with Excel alongside transferable skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, and perseverance. Many students continue to reference the escape room long after the module has ended, suggesting it represents a memorable and meaningful learning experience.

Beyond my own teaching, this work has been shared internally and nationally through conference presentations, invited talks, and a podcast. It has also led to me facilitating playful learning initiatives within my department. I am currently redeveloping the escape room into a fully asynchronous VLE-based resource to increase accessibility, scalability, and ease of adoption by other educators. This innovation demonstrates how low-barrier digital tools can be used creatively to improve engagement, build essential skills, and change students’ relationships with challenging content.