Effects of a Virtual Reality Teaching Intervention on Voice Production in Pre Professional Teachers: A Pilot Study

PURPOSE: To pilot a brief, preventative virtual reality (VR) teaching intervention with pre professional teachers, and to understand if voice production in the VR approximated classroom vocal behavior (ie, a teaching style of speech). METHOD: Ten pre professional teachers were enrolled in the study. Their voices were recorded in three conditions: (i) a control condition designed to elicit typical, conversational speech, (ii) a teaching style condition designed to simulate typical occupational conversations, and (iii) a VR teaching intervention condition designed to reduce the likelihood of developing a voice disorder through motor learning associated with Conversation Training Therapy. Following each condition, the participants rated their vocal effort, vocal fatigue, and vocal discomfort on separate visual analog scales for each construct. Additionally, they completed a VR questionnaire, which aimed to determine their perspectives of the VR environment. All participant recordings were processed to extract the sound pressure level and its standard deviation, the fundamental frequency and its standard deviation, and time dose. RESULTS: The teaching style and VR teaching intervention conditions contributed to alterations in voice production that may be consistent with a teaching style of speech. The VR teaching intervention condition resulted in significantly lower sound pressure level, time dose, and significantly increased self-reported vocal discomfort compared with the control condition. Real-time virtually mediated clinician feedback during the VR teaching intervention condition contributed to significantly lower sound pressure level, fundamental frequency, and time dose. Finally, responses on the VR questionnaire indicated that within the VR teaching intervention condition, participants endorsed a strong sense of presence and immersion. CONCLUSIONS: The study piloted a VR teaching intervention, providing initial feasibility data for future in-depth examinations of this potential tool.