Prospective science teachers' attitudes and views of using journal writing in the "methods of teaching science" course

The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of prospective science teachers at Sultan Qaboos University towards and their views about using journal writing in the Methods of Teaching Science course. Twenty-six prospective science teachers were asked to write about each topic in the course in their journal to show their understanding of it. In addition, they were asked to reflect on that topic. Two research instruments were used to collect the data; a scale of attitudes towards using the journal in the course and a focus group discussion. The attitude scale consisted of 29 items and its reliability coefficient was calculated by internal consistency using Cronbach's Alpha, which gave a value of 0.91. The focus group discussion was conducted with eight prospective science teachers. Both instruments were applied at the end of the course.The results of the study showed that prospective science teachers have a positive attitude towards using journal writing in the "Methods of Teaching Science" course. They cited several advantages and benefits they gained from using the journal. They are also willing to use the tool when they become teachers of science in schools after graduation. However, they highlighted some points for improving the tool in future, such as giving them examples from previous works and more feedback from the instructor. Several recommendations are proposed to enhance the use of journal writing in "Methods of Teaching Science" courses.