Dear Dr. ZHU,

Kind regards,

Semiu Olawale Makinde, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

This is a well-conceived and competently written paper addressing a timely issue in music education—the adaptation of the flipped classroom model to non-Western higher education. The theoretical integration of self-directed learning, course development theory, and collaborative learning theory is commendable and clearly operationalised in the instructional design.

The methodology is sound, and results are convincingly analysed. I particularly appreciate the clarity of tables and the balance between quantitative rigour and pedagogical interpretation.

For improvement, please:

1. Review the manuscript for minor typographical and grammatical errors.

2. Ensure consistency in citation formatting (e.g., duplication of some references such as Bolden et al., 2021 and Ng et al., 2022).

3. Shorten the discussion slightly to avoid repetition of points already stated in the results.

4. Clarify briefly in the methodology how reliability or validity of the tests was established (mention expert review or pilot testing more explicitly).

These are minor revisions that will further strengthen the manuscript’s clarity and presentation. Overall, it is a strong contribution suitable for publication after minor corrections.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: The title of the paper is apt, while the Abstract is very good and is within the maximum number of words. The entire body of the work is coherent and is focused on the title of the paper. The results and analysis were explanatory enough. The references are in line with the APA 7th edition. The little areas pointed out can be viewed in the manuscript for necessary attention. On a final note, I hereby recommend that the manuscript be considered for publication after attending to the minor corrections.

Reviewer #2: The manuscript is able to provide good theoretical framework for the research and establish the gap. However, there are some assertions that needs to be substantiated in the background and literature review section. The literature review section can include similar research conducted in STEM areas. Do State objectives and the research hypotheses tested in the study. the Also, in the methodology section, kindly provide the number of items for each subsection of the research instrument used and the psychometric properties.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: Reviewed Manuscript.docx

Development of Flipped Classroom Module FCM for Music Theory Instruction: An Innovative Approach to Music Education

PONE-D-25-42105R1

Dear Dr. QISEN ZHU

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Semiu Olawale Makinde, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: