Michelle Clevenger
Director of Early Childhood Education
Education
- PhD, Early Childhood Education, University of South Carolina,
- MA, Curriculum and Instruction: Creative Arts in Learning, Lesley University
- BA, Early Childhood Education with a certificate in Learning Disabilities, Columbia College
Biography
Michelle Clevenger, Ph.D., is an early childhood professor at Columbia International University who equips students to meet the needs of diverse, young learners through hands-on, play-based, and differentiated instruction. The early childhood years are foundational for our youngest learners. This time in their development provides a rich opportunity to support them in their educational journey and their spiritual journey to know and love God. Dr. Clevenger has a love of Children’s Literature and incorporates it into the university classroom so that her students are knowledgeable of books to use in their own classroom one day.
Dr. Clevenger’s research interests include the importance of play, the impact of technology on young children, brain development in young learners and teaching reading. At CIU, Dr. Clevenger teaches in the Teacher Education undergraduate program, the Master of Arts in Teaching program and the Master of Education program. She also serves on Dissertation committees in the Ph.D. program.
Dr. Clevenger and her husband, Todd, were married in 2009 and have a son, Caleb, who attends Ben Lippen School. Dr. Clevenger is also a graduate of Ben Lippen, which is a ministry of CIU. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Clevenger loves to read, cook, and spend time with her family and their dog, Izzy. She also continues to cheer on her Gamecocks.
