Talking Like a Teacher—A Study of Pre-Service Teachers’ Voice and Speech Characteristics in Learning and Teaching Situations
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI found the study to be truly captivating! The depth of information provided was both enjoyable to read and highly educational. This research makes a substantial contribution to the scholarly understanding of how pre-service teachers utilize speech and voice across diverse teaching scenarios. The findings, being both original and intriguing, underscore the necessity for teacher development programs to invest additional efforts in enhancing pre-service teachers' capacity to regulate factors influencing the quality of their speech and voice.
Author Response
Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. We are very pleased that you commented on the importance of the study and found it highly educational.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe first research question was answered by the results. However, for the second and third research questions below, it seems that there is no evidence or statistical data or analyses provided in the research to answer these two research questions and just discuss them in the Discussion section. It is required to provide evidence or analysis data to answer the second and the third research questions.
"Can these changes be considered to be beneficial for future teachers and how could they affect communication between teacher and students?"
Additionally, there is a concern about the reliability because the sample size is small. Providing power analysis is also suggested.
Author Response
Summary. Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses below and the corrections highlighted in the re-submitted file.
The first research question was answered by the results. However, for the second and third research questions below, it seems that there is no evidence or statistical data or analyses provided in the research to answer these two research questions and just discuss them in the Discussion section. It is required to provide evidence or analysis data to answer the second and the third research questions. "Can these changes be considered to be beneficial for future teachers and how could they affect communication between teacher and students?"
Response: We agree with this comment. Research questions 2 and 3 have been changed to discussion in light of previous research: Line 72, page 2: And, what the changes mean in terms of vocal health and teacher-student communication?
Also, in discussion section changes have been made as follows.
Line 295, page 8: Additionally, a poorly functioning voice can weaken a teacher's professional identity and (professional) self-esteem, and reduce work ability. Teachers' voice problems, where possible, should be prevented or detected and corrected at a sufficiently early stage to avoid worsening of the problem [6]. An additional suggestion from this study is that pre-service teachers could gain better knowledge of their voice as an occupational tool, as well as its role in teaching and learning. And, in the conclusions: Line 307, page 8: Considering the future teachers´ vocal health, however, some of the changes were linked with disadvantages.
Additionally, there is a concern about the reliability because the sample size is small. Providing power analysis is also suggested.
Response: Thank you for pointing this out. Power analyses are now added to the statistical analysis. Line 184, page 5: Wilcoxon signed ranks test with Monte Carlo simulation method with 95 % confidence level was used [36].
Results are provided in Table 2, pages 5-6.
We are aware that the number of subjects was small, but the number of speech samples was adequate. The power analyses confirm there is a true effect as presented by the results. Also, we have discussed the limitations of the small number of participants. Line 260, page 7: The number of pre-service physics teachers in this study was nine, which is in estimation ten percent of the students who start university studies to become a physics teacher annually in Finland. However, the number of samples in learning and teaching situations was 82 in both. Statistical analyses showed the changes were significant with Monte Carlo simulation method with 95 % confidence level. This suggests that the number of samples was adequate.
Is the content succinctly described and contextualized with respect to previous and present theoretical background and empirical research (if applicable) on the topic? Can be improved.
Response: By modifying research questions 2 and 3, as described above, this has been improved.
Are the research design, questions, hypotheses and methods clearly stated? Must be improved.
Response: Research question was refined to match the results and discussion. Research questions 2 and 3 were changed to discuss the meaning of results of the research question 1. Also, power analyses have been added. This has been improved.
For empirical research, are the results clearly presented? Must be improved.
Response: Power analyses have been added to the statistical analyses. The removal of research questions 2 and 3 means all results now clearly relate to the main research question. This has been improved.
Is the article adequately referenced? Can be improved.
Response: An article on statistical analyses has been added to references:
36. Mumby, PJ. Statistical power of non-parametric tests: A quick guide for designing sampling strategies. Mar Pollut Bull 2002, 44, 85-87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0025-326x(01)00097-2
All the references have been checked.
Are the conclusions thoroughly supported by the results presented in the article or referenced in secondary literature? Must be improved.
Response: We now have one research question which is discussed thoroughly in Discussion and Conclusions and supported by the results. This has been improved.
