There’s nothing like having ancient Greek mathematician Thales himself—complete with a grape-leaves head wreath and white toga—explain the concept of similar triangles. But that’s just what happened for nearly 50 area middle school students during Math Camp in July at California State University, Long Beach. Joining the students as camp leaders were four Cerritos College Teacher TRAC students. 

For two weeks each summer, CSULB organizes a hands-on, half-day “math camp” that challenges and refreshes students in Geometry and Algebra. The camp is funded in part through a state grant that seeks to increase students’ abilities in the areas of mathematics and science.

The Teacher TRAC students are involved with the program as part of the Cerritos College Teaching Secondary School Scholar Partnership (TS3P) grant funded by the National Science Foundation. Next summer, Teacher TRAC Director Sue Parsons stated that Cerritos College students will assist in both science and math camp at CSULB.

Serving as “camp counselors” were Gabriela Gonzales, a mathematics major; Nancy Mendoza, also a mathematics major; Beatriz Soria, an engineering major; and Susan Massey, a liberal studies major. Working alongside master teachers throughout the two weeks of Math Camp allows the Teacher TRAC students a chance to see what lies ahead of them in a teaching career.

“I think this will seal the deal for them,” said Sue Parsons, director of Cerritos College’s Teacher TRAC.

“They’ll either decide that they love it and want to continue on the path to teaching full-time, or they’ll find that teaching is perhaps secondary to their love of math or science.”

The Teacher TRAC students lead the math camp students in hands on activities such as constructing and measuring a small, three-dimensional pyramid; another morning, the group visited CSULB’s Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden to estimate the number of koi in the garden’s pond.

“When I was in school, you learned and didn’t ‘do,’” said Massey, as she walked with her students from a morning presentation to their smaller group session.

“But this program makes the concepts very engaging and energetic…it allows the students to make discoveries on their own.”

Massey led her 15 students in a discussion about congruent triangles. They tossed a blue stress ball across the room as they responded to questions posed by Massey: How do we know the triangles are similar? What’s the difference between similar and congruent triangles?

In another classroom, Gonzales lead students through a problem that helps them compare angles and sides of a triangle.

The middle school students range in ages between 11 and 15 and are from area schools such as Rogers Middle School in Los Alamitos and Cubberley School in Long Beach. 

Serving as master teachers during the math camp were veteran educators Robert Nguyen, a high school teacher at Mayfair High School, Bill Rodriguez, a sixth grade teacher at Cubberley K-8 School in Long Beach, and Stephanie Siavi'i, a fourth grade teacher also from Cubberley. Paula Granillo oversees the math camp as part of CSULB’s education department.


“True math camp experience is enthusiastic children who can’t wait to learn and explore new concepts,” said Granillo.

Cerritos College’s Teacher TRAC program offers many services, programs, and pathways for students interested in teaching K-12.  The Teaching Secondary School Scholar Partnership Program (TS3P) focuses on developing much-needed mathematics and science teachers for grades 7-12.  For students interested in becoming an elementary school teacher, Teacher TRAC's flagship program is a partnership with California State University Long Beach. As a student in the integrated, standards-based Teacher TRAC / CSULB program, students can earn their bachelor's degree and multiple subject teaching credentials and complete their student teaching within four years. For more information about the program, visit www.teachertrac.com.