TABLE 5.
Factor loadings for student values of cross-disciplinary skillsa
| Item | Factor loadings | Descriptives | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Mean | SD | |
| Factor 1: Research and Writing | 3.87 | 0.95 | ||||
| Writing for a scholarly or professional audience | 0.54 | 3.76 | 1.16 | |||
| Learning basic sets of laboratory skills | 0.67 | 3.85 | 1.27 | |||
| Evaluating credibility of sources in your discipline | 0.70 | 3.93 | 1.10 | |||
| Locating credible primary sources | 0.84 | 3.86 | 1.15 | |||
| Understanding information presented in primary sources | 0.74 | 4.13 | 1.00 | |||
| Designing research studies | 0.44 | 3.65 | 1.17 | |||
| Factor 2: Memorization | 3.36 | 1.03 | ||||
| Memorizing some basic facts | 0.69 | 3.69 | 1.17 | |||
| Remembering formulas | 0.84 | 2.93 | 1.25 | |||
| Remembering procedures or steps | 0.78 | 3.48 | 1.16 | |||
| Memorizing large quantities of information | 0.77 | 3.33 | 1.33 | |||
| Factor 3: Conceptual and Data Application | 4.40 | 0.54 | ||||
| Acquiring major concepts in your discipline | 0.51 | 4.56 | 0.64 | |||
| Applying quantitative reasoning | 0.60 | 4.27 | 0.81 | |||
| Solving problems | 0.63 | 4.54 | 0.67 | |||
| Drawing conclusions based on reason and evidence | 0.50 | 4.41 | 0.81 | |||
| Analyzing data | 0.65 | 4.38 | 0.81 | |||
| Interpreting data | 0.72 | 4.36 | 0.82 | |||
| Decision-making based on evidenceb | 0.36 | 4.25 | 0.85 | |||
| Factor 4: Nature of the Discipline | 3.87 | 0.69 | ||||
| Developing entrepreneurial thinking | 0.70 | 3.05 | 1.30 | |||
| Working in groups | 0.51 | 3.52 | 1.13 | |||
| Developing creativity and innovation | 0.72 | 3.89 | 1.02 | |||
| Understanding how your discipline applies to the real world | 0.37 | 4.40 | 0.83 | |||
| Understanding the evolving nature of your discipline | 0.31 | 4.15 | 0.89 | |||
| Developing an understanding that your discipline connects with other disciplines | 0.56 | 4.11 | 0.93 | |||
| Developing oral communication skills | 0.67 | 3.87 | 1.13 | |||
| Collaborating with peers | 0.55 | 3.98 | 1.01 | |||
| Extracted sums of squared loadings | 3.68 | 3.28 | 3.04 | 2.50 | ||
| Percentage of variance | 14.71 | 13.12 | 12.16 | 9.99 | ||
| Construct reliability (α) | 0.87 | 0.85 | 0.83 | 0.84 | ||
an = 1174 (includes Universities 1–4). Sample size is larger than other analyses due to fewer missing data for these items. Likert-scale responses ranged from 1 = not important to 5 = very important.
bLoaded above 0.30 on another factor and was treated as loading solely to the factor on which it had the highest loading.