Oral Presentation of Research as a tutorial

Professor Byrd; GSEM 140

Step 1 — Topic Selection

Choose a scientific topic that fits within the scope of our seminar:  Speech and Hearing in Health and Breakdown.  You are to find out more about this topic than what we covered in class (if indeed we covered it at all in class).  For the project, you will do the following:

1) Choose a scientific topic that fits within the scope of our seminar:  Speech and Hearing in Health and Breakdown. Don’t pick too broad a topic!  Pick something that you could synthesize in 3-4 minutes for a person who has taken this or a similar class.

2) Find at least three scientifically valid sources of information.  Quality, accuracy and diversity of information is key; rather than quantity.  These sources must include at least one in each of the following categories:

a. A scientific journal article downloaded as a pdf from the library, pubmed, or research gate (or similar clearinghouse) [see journal info below];

b. A .gov website such as the NIDCD and/or national recognized professional organization such as ASHA;

c. A lay journalism article in a reputable newspaper or magazine that also has a print circulation (no online only sources, though you may of course access the article online).

·   At least one of these articles must contain quantitative data (i.e., reports of information quantified and analyzed).

·   All the references must be dated 2021 or more recent, unless you get permission from Professor Byrd for an exception.

3) Send your topic and a list of your sources to Professor Byrd for approval by Date on Weekly.  A complete pdf is required for (a) above and for other published science; pdfs or links are acceptable for b and c.  I do not care about formatting; I do care that the citations are complete.

If you have add sources after this first submission, please turn in a refreshed list at the time of presentation.  Any and all sources you use in your oral presentation should appear on your reference list.

Step 2 — 'Rules of the Road' for Presenting and Grading

You will ‘teach’ this topic to your classmates via a brief in-person oral presentation in your own words.   In-person attendance is required of all class members.  You will use no slides or script or handout.  (The blackboard will be available.)

Your presentation should cover:

1)     What scientific inquiry is the work concerned with; what is the big picture point. Leverage our in-class learning to ensure that your audience has a framework for understanding your topic.

2)     What should an educated adult at a minimum know about this topic.  If your classmates encounter a relevant or related scenario in their lives, what should they know for an optimal understanding and/or choosing a best course of action.

3)     Ensure that your information is accurate.  Inaccurate information (or misinformation) will cause the professor to interrupt and will lower your grade.  If you are not sure, do more research and/or ask the Professor (or other expert in the field, adding such inquiry to your references).  Are there factors or terminology that might be confusing, vague or misleading; perhaps terms about the topic that are discussed differently across the different sources? Be as thorough as time allows for a solid understanding.  

4)     What are some unknowns, limitations, confounds, and/or shortcomings of the material you found.  Are there mixed findings, and if so, why might that be the case? Might further research—either not covered here or perhaps remaining for scientists in the future—illuminate these unknowns.  

You will be graded on the items above with reference to:

·       the information accuracy and scope,

·       critical thinking,

·       clarity & preparedness of your presentation,

·       how well you are able to help your classmates understand the topic without their having known (much) about it beforehand.  

 A second grader in addition to Professor Byrd may be present in the room.

Length and Requirements of Oral Presentation--This presentation should take 4-5 minutes, no more; practice so you are sure to be at an appropriate length in making your remarks.  You will be stopped at the 5-minute mark and no points awarded after that.

You may, if you like, use of half of one-side of a (8.5x11) sheet of paper only, prepared in advance (hard-copy only; fold the paper in half and use the half facing you).  This notes page might contain keywords or an outline with a bulleted list of points, but it should not be a script of your presentation. The presentation is not to be read aloud from a prepared text; points will be deducted if you are not speaking extemporaneously.  You may not use any handouts or slides.  You will turn in this notes page (not for grading, just to ensure that it is not a script.)

If you have added references since your first submission, please turn in a refreshed list at the time of presentation.  Any and all sources you use in your oral presentation should appear on your reference list.

Experience suggests that the material provided by an AI or LLM like ChatGPT will yield a poor grade. If I believe material submitted by a student was produced by an LLM (e.g. ChatGPT, etc.), I reserve the right to give the student an impromptu oral exam on the material.  WARNING: ChatGPT etc. will likely provide an incorrect synopsis of an article; it may not have access to article full-texts, it may make-up non-existent citations, and may provide a synopsis that will sound plausible but be wrong. (This is called 'hallucinating' within the LLM community.)

Questions on Classmates' Oral Presentations:  At the oral presentations, every student will need to write a specific question on every other student’s article presentation.  These are due (typed) at end of the day after the final presentations.  This effort will be a component of the final grade on the assignment.

Regarding 1.A above, I recommend these journals, which are all available online through the USC Libraries:  Journal of Phonetics, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Phonetica, Language and Speech, Journal of the International Phonetic Association, Laboratory Phonology, Speech Communication, and Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, and Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics.   You likely will want to go to USCLibraries and choose "Find" "Journals" to get the pdf of an article you desire.  Don't know how to search for an article? GoogleScholar, ResearchGate, or PubMed may be helpful; also Ask a Librarian or watch a USC Libraries Tutorial.  Don't know how to search for an article? GoogleScholar, ResearchGate, or PubMed may be helpful; also Ask a Librarian or watch a USC Libraries Tutorial.