Unlocking US Teachers´ Vocal Potential by Raising Awareness About the Body-Mind Interconnectedness in Voicepilates Training

Abstract

Teachers are at high risk of voice disorders, and voice trainings are shown to help to prevent the disorders. This qualitative phenomenological study investigated individual experiences of US teachers (n=5) attending “Teachers ́ voice with VoicePilates” interventions. Data was collected on participants ́ VHI (self-reported symptoms of vocal fatigue) and open-ended questionnaires, recordings of pre- and post-training vocal samples taken during the 4 days of the intervention session and 30 days after the interventions started. Interventions consisted of a voice hygiene lecture (30 min) and 2 x 45 minute and 2 x 2 hour group voice trainings. Participants ́ reflections were compared with the Finnish speech-language pathologists ́ expert group reviews, and they mainly correlated. All the respondents (n=5) felt that they had been paying close attention and have learnt something new about their voice and how to use it during teaching, describing concrete situations where new vocal and postural skills were consciously used. Results of the preliminary study give indications that teachers ́ awareness of their voice in teaching situations can be developed with VoicePilates method, thus improving teachers ́ vocal well-being. This study could offer voice teachers valuable insights in light of recent research in motor learning, hopefully leading to better practice regimens and more effective feedback, the two most important parameters in motor learning.