This wiki was created for the 2010 Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching in Greensboro, N.C, "Evidence-Based Learning and Teaching," by Melissa Johnson and Jessica Gordon, who teach Focused Inquiry at Virginia Commonwealth University.


Melissa Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the University College of Virginia Commonwealth University where she serves as the Curriculum Coordinator for Focused Inquiry. Having earned an M.F.A. in poetry and a Ph.D. in twentieth-century British Literature and Women's Studies from the University of the South Carolina, she taught literature, creative writing, composition and Women's Studies courses at USC, Augusta State University, and Newberry College before accepting her current position at VCU.

Jessica Gordon is an Instructor in the University College at Virginia Commonwealth University where she teaches several sections of Focused Inquiry. Jessica earned her M.A. at VCU in English Literature in 2000. She was Adjunct Instructor at VCU, J. Sargeant Reynolds, and John Tyler Community College for several years. Before beginning her current position with the University College, she taught Composition and Rhetoric, Advanced Writing, and American Literature in the English Department at VCU.