INTRODUCTION
The Comprehensively Applied Manipulative Mathematics Program (CAMMP)
began in 1991 as an idea for teaching elementary and middle school teachers
constructivist teaching strategies for math. This graduate course is offered only during
summer session, and it entails a novel two-for-one enterprise. First, elementary and
middle grades teachers enroll in a summer-term graduate course on teaching methods for
mathematics. Second, using the strategies they have learned, teachers then implement a
half-day, week-long summer camp for rising first through sixth grade students who come
to campus.
This two-for-one enterprise has been successful for two decades because teachers
continue to seek new strategies for “hands-on learning,” something CAMMP has a
reputation for delivering. Additionally, the course works because it offers families living
near the university extra enrichment opportunities for elementary and middle grades
students to get an early start on concept building for next year’s mathematics curriculum.