Project Description

Challenge

Math presents a steep challenge for many school-aged children, mainly when a learning disability or neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) affects some of the skills that it requires. Students who were prenatally exposed to alcohol, for example, can struggle with visual-spatial processing, working memory, and self-regulation : the ability to monitor and exert control over their thoughts, behaviour and emotions for the sake of achieving goals.

A tutoring program called the Math Interactive Learning Experience (MILE), initially developed for kids with fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, tackles not only math itself but also the core deficits that often underlie math difficulties. However, it relies on individual or small-group instruction, which can be a tall order for schools with limited resources. Despite ample evidence that MILE is useful, it doesn’t yet have a broad reach.

Project Summary

With support from Kids Brain Health Network, Dr. Carmen Rasmussen and Dr. Jacqueline Pei of the University of Alberta have assembled a community of practice consisting of teachers, curriculum advisors, early-years experts, numeracy consultants and researchers. Together, they will adapt MILE for classroom-wide use. This new version of the program will help all children progress in math while integrating teaching techniques that are well-suited for supporting students with NDDs. It may still include a few small-group sessions for higher-needs kids, but compared to existing versions of MILE, it will require far fewer extra resources.

Result

Once the community of practice finishes modifying MILE and preparing educator-training materials, the next step will be piloting the adapted version of the program in Edmonton classrooms. It’s expected that it will improve not only kids’ preliminary math skills but also their abilities to focus, set goals, engage with learning and manage their behaviour.

Funding

Kids Brain Health Network – $91,610.00

Team

Principal Investigators

Carmen Rasmussen, University of Alberta
Jacqueline Pei, University of Alberta

Partners

Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium
The MILE Program
Edmonton Public Schools
Elk Island Catholic Schools
Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools