# Constance Steinkuehler

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American professor

Constance Steinkuehler Born Constance Steinkuehler Alma mater University of Missouri, University of Wisconsin–Madison Known for Game-based learning Spouse Kurt Squire ​ (m. 2006)​ Children 2 Scientific career Fields Education Game-based learning Literacy Informatics Institutions University of California, Irvine University of Wisconsin–Madison Office of Science and Technology Policy Doctoral advisor James Paul Gee

**Constance Steinkuehler** is an American professor of [Informatics](/source/Informatics) at the [University of California, Irvine](/source/University_of_California%2C_Irvine). She previously taught at the [University of Wisconsin-Madison](/source/University_of_Wisconsin-Madison) before taking public service leave, from 2011-2012, to work as a Senior Policy Analyst in the [Office of Science and Technology Policy](/source/Office_of_Science_and_Technology_Policy) (OSTP) at the [White House](/source/White_House) [Executive Office](/source/Executive_Office_of_the_President_of_the_United_States), where she advised on policy matters about [video games](/source/Video_game) and digital media.[1]

Steinkuehler studies cognition, culture, and learning in multiplayer online games. She is the co-director of the Games+Learning+Society Center at UC Irvine and teaches courses on games and society.[2]

## Education

Steinkuehler earned bachelor's degrees in [Mathematics](/source/Mathematics), [English](/source/English_language), and [Religious Studies](/source/Religious_studies) from the [University of Missouri](/source/University_of_Missouri) in 1993.[3] She completed an MS in Educational Psychology (Cognitive Science) in 2000 and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction in 2005 at the [University of Wisconsin–Madison](/source/University_of_Wisconsin%E2%80%93Madison). Her dissertation was a cognitive ethnography of Lineage and [World of Warcraft](/source/World_of_Warcraft).[4][5]

## Professional career

### Research

After earning her doctorate, Steinkuehler joined the faculty at University of Wisconsin as an Assistant Professor of [Digital Media](/source/Digital_Media) in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.[6]

From 2005 to 2013, her research team studied cognition and learning in online games, focusing on scientific reasoning, literacy, and problem-solving within game communities using mixed methods.[7]

Between 2007 and 2009, she led an after-school gaming program for disengaged teens to explore the differences between learning in games and in school, including how adolescents read and engage with game-related versus academic texts.[8]

After a period working in the Obama White House [Office of Science and Technology](/source/Office_of_Science_and_Technology),[9] Steinkuehler returned to academic research with a new focus on field-building efforts. Research projects during this period (2012-2016) include collaborations with Dr. [Richard Davidson](/source/Richard_Davidson) through the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds on the design and testing of games for emotional acuity and self-regulation as well as cross-institutional efforts to situate big data (combining telemetry game data exhaust with conversational utterances across small groups of middle school game players) to better understand collaborative learning through game-based interventions.[10]

In 2017, Steinkuehler and her partner [Kurt Squire](/source/Kurt_Squire) moved to the Department of Informatic at [University of California, Irvine](/source/University_of_California%2C_Irvine) and re-established the Games+Learning+Society (GLS) Center as part of the trans-departmental Connected Learning Lab at UCI.[11]

## Personal life

In 2006, Steinkuehler married [Kurt Squire](/source/Kurt_Squire), former Creative Director at the [Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery](/source/Wisconsin_Institutes_for_Discovery),[12] and also a professor at [University of California, Irvine](/source/University_of_California%2C_Irvine).[13] They have two children.[14]

She appeared in a pilot TV show called *Brain Trust*.[15] The show was piloted in 2008 and featured a team of thought leaders working collaboratively to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Constance Steinkuehler"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062205/http://website.education.wisc.edu/steinkuehler/blog/). Website.education.wisc.edu. Archived from [the original](http://website.education.wisc.edu/steinkuehler/blog/) on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-10-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Constance Steinkuehler | Wilson Center"](https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/constance-steinkuehler). *www.wilsoncenter.org*. 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2025-08-25.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Sciences, UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information & Computer; Bassett, Coby (2017-03-10). ["Steinkuehler, Squire named HEVGA Fellows"](https://ics.uci.edu/2017/03/09/steinkuehler-squire-named-hevga-fellows/). *UC Irvine Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences*. Retrieved 2025-07-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Conklin, Aaron R. (2012-04-19). ["UW's Constance Steinkuehler shapes the White House's videogame policy"](https://isthmus.com/movies/article.php%3Farticle%3D36536). *Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin*. Retrieved 2025-07-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Constance Steinkuehler"](https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/contributor/constance-steinkuehler). *www.wisconsinacademy.org*. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2025-07-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["UW-Madison - Department of Curriculum and Instruction"](https://www.education.wisc.edu/ci/faculty/details.asp?id=steinkuehler). Education.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Constance Steinkuehler » The PopCosmo Research Team"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061916/http://website.education.wisc.edu/steinkuehler/blog/?page_id=73). Website.education.wisc.edu. Archived from [the original](http://website.education.wisc.edu/steinkuehler/blog/?page_id=73) on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-10-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Steinkuehler, C. & King, B. (2009). Digital literacies for the disengaged: Creating after school contexts to support boys' game-based literacy skills. On the Horizon, 17(1), 47-59.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Constance Steinkuehler | Wilson Center"](https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/constance-steinkuehler). *www.wilsoncenter.org*. 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2025-07-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Herold, Benjamin (2013-08-13). ["Video-Game Research Delves Into How Children Succeed"](https://www.edweek.org/leadership/video-game-research-delves-into-how-children-succeed/2013/08). *Education Week*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0277-4232](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0277-4232). Retrieved 2025-07-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["UCI informatics professors relaunch center on computer games, learning and society – UC Irvine News"](https://news.uci.edu/2021/09/22/uci-informatics-professors-relaunch-center-on-computer-games-learning-and-society/). Retrieved 2025-07-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Discovery Home - Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062049/http://discovery.wisc.edu/home/morgridge/research/erca/people/). Discovery.wisc.edu. Archived from [the original](http://discovery.wisc.edu/home/morgridge/research/erca/people/) on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-10-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["UW-Madison - Department of Curriculum and Instruction"](https://www.education.wisc.edu/ci/faculty/details.asp?id=kdsquire). Education.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ocr2017_14-0)** Keith, Sharon (2017-08-25). ["Games are changing the world, just ask new UCI professor who worked in the White House"](https://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/25/games-are-changing-the-world-just-ask-new-uci-professor-who-worked-in-the-white-house/). *Orange County Register*. Retrieved 2025-07-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["BRAIN TRUST on Vimeo"](https://vimeo.com/1871107). Vimeo.com. 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2013-10-22.

## External links

- [UC Irvine Informatics - faculty profile for Steinkuehler](https://www.informatics.uci.edu/explore/faculty-profiles/constance-steinkuehler/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Constance Steinkuehler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Steinkuehler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Steinkuehler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.