About
MILE is a math tutoring program that was developed in the United States for children aged 3-10 years with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). MILE aims to improve math skills and support math-related cognitive abilities using interactive experiences and tools. It encourages learning math at a pace that suits the student, compensating or remediating their challenges. The FAR (Focus, Act and Reflect) methodology also supports problem-solving and self-regulation abilities. MILE is listed under the American Institutes for Research National Centre on Intensive Interventions (NCII) and the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare Interventions.
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In Canada, MILE was replicated and adapted by a research team at the University of Alberta led by Dr. Carmen Rasmussen and Dr. Jacqueline Pei to support young children with FASD or prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The team found that MILE was highly effective in improving math skills among young children with FASD or PAE when administered within a small group setting. Later, the program was made available in schools and classrooms to increase its impact. The Alberta research team partnered with school districts within Alberta to train educators to implement MILE in classroom settings with small groups of children with neurodevelopmental and learning difficulties. The program was effective when administered in small groups to children with general learning and neurodevelopmental delays. The Alberta research team further adapted MILE to be used classroom-wide with all students. Initial research indicates that MILE continues to benefit both students and teachers when it is implemented classroom-wide.
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The MILE program's core elements were found to be a potential teaching approach for classrooms, leading to the development of online resources and asynchronous training available on the website. The goal of this platform is to support educators in introducing MILE in a classroom-wide implementation and enhance student learning experience and success in math.
