Students

SPHL3312 – Speech Perception and Hearing Science

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Joshua Penney
joshua.penney@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
50cp at 2000 level or above including LING2217 or LING217
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit is a detailed examination of speech perception and hearing, and provides training in the scientific methods required to expand knowledge in both domains. This unit is based around interactive lectures that present the theoretical content, and practical workshops that support students in completing research projects and proposals. Essential topics in speech perception include the (categorical) perception of segments and the perception and processing of prosody. These are introduced from the perspective of monolingual adults, and further explored in a range of other populations, including bilinguals and listeners with hearing loss. The discussion of hearing covers the structure of the outer, middle and inner ear, the auditory nerve, the auditory brainstem and the auditory cortex, as well as the mechanisms of hearing and the physiology of the auditory system. A final focus of this unit is the psychoacoustics of hearing and speech perception.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Evaluate, make informed decisions regarding, and report on the methods, data, and results from speech perception experiments.
  • ULO2: Communicate on phenomena and theories of speech perception in a range of populations
  • ULO3: Demonstrate an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the ear to the cortex as they relate to hearing
  • ULO4: Analyse, interpret and report on clinical auditory data to engage with theoretical issues relating to clinical assessment techniques.

General Assessment Information

Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Assessment Policy. 

All final grades are determined by a grading committee, in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Policy, and are not the sole responsibility of the Unit Convenor. 

Students will be awarded a final grade and a mark which must correspond to the grade descriptors specified in the Assessment Procedure (clause 128). 

To pass this unit, you must demonstrate sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes, meet any ungraded requirements, and achieve a final mark of 50 or better. 

Further details for each assessment task will be available on iLearn. 

Late Submissions 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.   

 For example: 

Number of days (hours) late 

Total Possible Marks 

Deduction 

Raw mark 

Final mark 

1 day (1-24 hours) 

100 

5 

75 

70 

2 days (24-48 hours) 

100 

10 

75 

65 

3 days (48-72 hours) 

100 

15 

75 

60 

7 days (144-168 hours)  

100 

35 

75 

40 

>7 days (>168 hours) 

100 

- 

75 

0 

 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.  

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Experiment Proposal 30% No 19/4/2024 Recess week 1
Discrimination and Categorization Quiz 20% No 18/3/2024 Week 5
Hearing Science Exam 30% No Exam period
DPOAE Practicum and Report 20% No 31/5/2024 Week 13

Experiment Proposal

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 27.5 hours
Due: 19/4/2024 Recess week 1
Weighting: 30%

 

Speech perception research, like all science, is an incremental process. This assessment invites you to formulate a follow-up experiment on a speech perception study published in an international scientific journal in recent years (to be specified each offering). You will be asked to write a concise experiment proposal, in which you 1) critically evaluate the original paper; 2) formulate a question and hypothesis; 3) outline appropriate methods and predicted results; 4) discuss implications of predicted outcomes.

Speech perception research is also a collaborative process, which requires participants to critically reflect on the work of others and integrate feedback into their own work. In the process of writing the experiment proposal you will thus be asked to submit preliminary versions and review and provide constructive feedback to the preliminary versions from your peers.

Submission of this assignment as well as submission of preliminary versions and of constructive feedback to peers is compulsory. Word count: 2500 words (excluding title page and references).

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate, make informed decisions regarding, and report on the methods, data, and results from speech perception experiments.
  • Communicate on phenomena and theories of speech perception in a range of populations

Discrimination and Categorization Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 18 hours
Due: 18/3/2024 Week 5
Weighting: 20%

 

Discrimination and Categorization of speech sounds are benchmark abilities and paradigms in the study of speech perception. This practicum will introduce you to the experimental procedures involved in measuring speech sound discrimination and categorization. You will also learn how to process and interpret raw datasets and use findings to answer research questions. These abilities are assessed in an online quiz. Submission of this assignment is compulsory.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate, make informed decisions regarding, and report on the methods, data, and results from speech perception experiments.
  • Communicate on phenomena and theories of speech perception in a range of populations

Hearing Science Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Exam period
Weighting: 30%

 

The aim of the final exam is to assess the learning outcomes related to hearing science. Duration: 2 hours _=(+ 10 minutes reading time)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the ear to the cortex as they relate to hearing
  • Analyse, interpret and report on clinical auditory data to engage with theoretical issues relating to clinical assessment techniques.

DPOAE Practicum and Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 31/5/2024 Week 13
Weighting: 20%

 

In this practicum, you will develop an understanding of the clinical use of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), the clinical equipment used to measure them and the procedure undertaken for this. You will also develop an appreciation for physiological and nonphysiological factors that could result in an absent evoked emission. Submission of this assignment is compulsory. Word count: 2500 words (excluding title page and references)

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the ear to the cortex as they relate to hearing
  • Analyse, interpret and report on clinical auditory data to engage with theoretical issues relating to clinical assessment techniques.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

As a student enrolled in this unit, you will engage in a range of online and face-to-face learning activities, including weekly lectures and tutorial sessions (some weeks excepted), weekly required readings, and assignment-specific resources.

All required readings and lecture materials provide the necessary content knowledge for successful completion of the exam and provide the basis for successful completion of the assignments. Tutorials are specifically designed to develop the skills required for the successful completion of the assignments. 

Details can be found on the iLearn site for this unit. 

Technology Used 

Active participation in the learning activities throughout the unit will require students to have access to a tablet, laptop or similar device. Students who do not own their own laptop computer may borrow one from the university library.  

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook