“When teaching in the classroom, I found that students often lacked depth when it came to their writing and speaking. I remember reading through surface-level annotations and simplistic paragraphs, thinking “how can I get my students to think more deeply about the text?”

This lead me to developing the first two Is from my In5Depth Framework: Issues and Implications. I consistently pushed students to talk about the issues being discussed in the text and to make inferences regarding the implications of those issues. Using the In5Depth Framework helped me facilitate richer discussions and deeper analyses.

Ensuring students were civically-minded and engaged was another goal I had as a teacher. I encouraged students to think about the influences and institutions that shaped their realities on both a micro and macro level. The last I focused on impact. I wanted my students to move beyond the text and actually make a difference within their community.”

-Founder and Facilitator, Melinda Alston