Danielle (Dani) Clevenger is a Philosophy Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She has a deep curiosity about all things teaching and learning, her research spans a number of sub-disciplines in philosophy including philosophy of science, philosophy of cognitive science, and philosophy of education. She is strongly committed to producing impact-oriented research that can contribute to current dialogues about important social issues. Her work explores topics like embodied teaching and learning, effective pedagogies, and justice and equity issues surrounding higher education. She is currently thinking about questions like: What is active about active learning? Can embodied cognition help explain why active learning seems to be such an effective educational strategy? What do instructors in higher education owe their students in regards to the way they teach?

Beyond her research, Dani loves teaching philosophy at any level and her favorite class thus far was entirely composed of kindergarteners! She has been teaching undergraduates for over eight years at a variety of institutions and finds it to be the most rewarding part of academia. Her guiding goal in teaching is to ensure students have experiences that allow them to uncover the multitude of ways that philosophy intersects with their daily lives, and she finds joy in mentoring students as they grow not only as philosophers but also as engaged, curious, and empathetic individuals. 

In addition to researching and teaching philosophy, she is also a Gullickson Scholar of Teaching and Learning for the College of Letters & Science where she designs new trainings in line with educational best practices for Teaching Assistants. She also co-designed a one credit seminar for philosophy graduate students to take simultaneously with their first teaching assignment with the goal of ameliorating the fear and stress that comes along with being a first-time instructor. She strongly believes that instructors should employ best practices in the classroom as it fosters more equitable learning environments.