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In this report we examine students' perceptions of the implementation of carefully designed curriculum materials (called modules) in linear algebra courses at three different universities. The curricular materials were produced collaboratively by STEM and mathematics education faculty as members of a professional learning community (PLC) over several years. We have described the development and implementation of these materials elsewhere (authors, authors). Our focus here is on more detailed analysis of comments that student participants made about the impact on their engagement, perceived learning, self-confidence, and notions of the broader nature of mathematics.

We applied computer-based text analyses of regressive imagery to verbal protocols of individuals engaged in creative problem-solving in two domains: visual art (23 experts, 23 novices) and computer programming (14 experts, 14 novices). Percentages of words involving primary process and secondary process thought, plus emotion-related words, were tabulated. Visual art protocols were higher in primary process thought and emotion-related words; those from programming were higher in secondary process thought. Almost no main effects of expertise or interactions were found. Correlations between the measures (particularly those involving emotion-related words) also varied as a function of task. This pattern suggests cognitive processes vary considerably across different creative problem-solving tasks or domains, and that a more domain-specific approach to creative cognition may be advisable. Further implications for integrating and consolidating some extant lines of creativity research are discussed.

This paper reports on the experience of STEM and mathematics faculty at four different institutions working collaboratively to integrate learning theory with curriculum development in a core undergraduate linear algebra context. The faculty formed a Professional Learning Community (PLC) with a focus on learning theories in mathematics and curriculum development. Beginning with an online reading seminar, faculty paired with at least one other STEM faculty member at each institution to develop modules collaboratively with each other and with the group as a whole through regular project meetings. Two representative modules from this collaboration are presented with student and faculty feedback. A link is provided to other modules. We consider this a proof-of-concept paper with broader applicability beyond linear algebra to other mathematics and even STEM courses. We focus on linear algebra because it is widely taught in undergraduate mathematics programs and lends itself easily to a variety of applications and geometric analyses. We intend to continue to apply this approach to other content domains. We chose a particular theoretical framework, Action-Process-Object-Schema (APOS), because the mathematics education faculty in this group had considerable experience in the development and use of the framework.