Cindy Brock

Literacy Research Center & Clinic

Wyoming Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chair in Literacy Education (Faculty)

Contact Information

LRCC 166

Education

Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1997
M.Ed. Washington State University, 1985
B.S. Oregon State University, 1981

Biography
Cynthia Brock is a professor at the University of Wyoming where she holds the Wyoming Excellence in Higher Education Endowed Chair in Literacy Education. She taught elementary, middle, and high school for nine years in Oregon, California, Florida and Michigan before returning to graduate school to earn a doctorate in educational psychology with a focus in literacy and an emphasis on second language learners. Before coming to UW, Dr. Brock was at Texas Woman’s University (3 years), University of Nevada, Reno (14 years) and the University of South Australia (2 years). Dr. Brock’s scholarly research agenda centers on the study of opportunity to learn, and her various studies have explored children’s learning, pre- and in-service teachers’ learning, and her learning and the learning of her colleagues. Dr. Brock is particularly interested in exploring the literacy learning opportunities of elementary children from cultural, linguistic and economic backgrounds, and she explores ways to work with pre- and in-service teachers to foster the literacy learning opportunities of children from non-dominant backgrounds. She has conducted qualitative research in cross-cultural contexts including the United States, Australia, England, Fiji, Thailand, Laos, Spain, Chile and Costa Rica. She has published her work in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, Teaching and Teacher Education, The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Curriculum Inquiry, Urban Education, The Elementary School Journal, Pedagogies: An International Journal and Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. She has also published her work in numerous books and handbooks. Dr. Brock has taught courses at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels on topics such as literacy instruction for children in the elementary grades, educational psychology and qualitative methods. Dr. Brock has provided service at the local, state, national and international levels across her career. For example, she has been (1) an Area Chair for the Literacy Research Association (LRA) and served on LRA’s Early Career Award Committee, (2) a member of the International Literacy Association’s (ILA) Nominating Committee and ILA’s Research Grants Program, (3) a member of the National Council of Teachers of English’s (NCTE) Standing Committee on Research and a member of NCTE’s Promising Researcher Award Committee and (4) a member of the local council (South Australia) of the Australia Literacy Educators’ Association (ALEA).

Research Interests