Laura L. Brock
Associate Professor and Associate Department Chair

Office Hours: Tuesdays 10am- 3pm
Phone: 843.953.8058
E-mail: brockll@cofc.edu
Laura Brock is an Associate Professor in the Teacher Education Department at the College of Charleston. She entered the profession as a special educator working with adjudicated adolescents in residential treatment facilities. Dr. Brock became interested in the relation between cognitive and emotion regulation and returned to graduate school to gain a deeper appreciation for the ways in which early contextual processes can promote healthful developmental trajectories. As a Research Fellow for the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, she conducted longitudinal examinations of the ways in which we can intervene with at-risk youth to close the achievement gap and buffer children from the long-term consequences of exposure to adverse early environments. Her current research agenda includes interventions aimed at reducing risk and promoting resilience in local school contexts, in collaboration with colleagues across institutions.
Education
2004-2008 University of Virginia. Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Applied Developmental Science.
Research Interests
The role of emotional consistency in healthful developmental trajectories
The relation between early fine-motor, visuo-spatial, executive function skills, and children's adjustment
The impact of early social and emotional skill development on long-term outcomes
Courses Taught
EDEE 407: Creating Learning Environments
EDEE 690: Creating Effective Learning Communities
EDFS 303: Human Growth and the Educational Process
EDFS 654: Human Growth and Development
EDFS 635: Educational Research Methods
MTLA 702: Research and Development Projects
EDEE 459: Middles Grades Clinical Practice
EDFS 460: Clinical Practice in the Content Areas
EDFS 427: Mathematics and Reasoning for Students with Disabilities
EDFS 440: Clinical Practice in Special Education
Honors and Awards
FELLOWSHIPS
2004-2008 Institute of Education Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Training Fellow: Risk and Prevention in the Education Sciences.
GRANTS
Swanson, J., (2014-2019). Talent Development Academies. Javits Gifted and Talented Student Education Programs. U.S. Department of Education. L.L. Brock: Co-Investigator, Faculty Partner, and Project Evaluator.
Grissmer, D. W., & Mashburn, A. (2013-2017). Efficacy Follow Up and Implementation Evaluation of the WINGS After-School Social and Emotional Learning Program. Social Innovation Funding through Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. University of Virginia. L.L. Brock: Principal Investigator for College of Charleston Sub-Award.
Grissmer, D. W., & Mashburn, A. (2011-2015). Efficacy of the WINGS After-School Social and Emotional Learning Program. Institute of Education Sciences. University of Virginia. L.L. Brock: Principal Investigator for College of Charleston Sub-Award.
Grissmer, D. W., & Mashburn, A. (2009-2012). The Impact of Fine Motor Skill Training on Math Achievement for At-Risk Youth. National Institutes of Child Health and Development. University of Virginia. L.L. Brock: Principal Investigator for College of Charleston Sub-Award.
Grissmer, D. W., Grimm, K., & Konold, T. (2009-2011). Developing Intervention Strategies to Close Kindergarten Readiness Gaps for Minority and Disadvantaged Children. National Science Foundation. University of Virginia. L.L. Brock: substantive consultant in developmental psychology.
Publications
PEER-REVIEWED EMPIRICAL PUBLICATIONS
Brock, L. L., Kim, H., Kelly, C. L., Mashburn, A. J., & Grissmer, D. W. (2019). Theory of mind, directly and indirectly, facilitates kindergarten adjustment via verbal ability, executive function, and emotion knowledge. Psychology in the Schools, 56 (2), 176-193.
An, X., Curby, T. W., & Brock, L. L., (2019). Is the child really what's being rated? Sources of variance in teacher-ratings of socioemotional skills. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282918808618
Brock, L. L., Kim, H., & Grissmer, D. W. (2018). Longitudinal associations among executive function, visuomotor integration, and achievement in a high risk sample. Mind, Brain, and Education 12 (1), 23-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12164.
Brock, L. L., Kim, H., Gutshall, C. C., & Grissmer, D. W. (2018). The development of theory of mind: Predictors and moderators of improvement in kindergarten. Early Childhood Development and Care. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2017.1423481.
Brock, L. L., Murrah, W. M., Cottone, E. A., Mashburn, A. J., & Grissmer, D. W. (2017). An afterschool visuospatial and executive function intervention improves daytime classroom behavior. International Journal of Behavioral Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025417738057
Brock, L. L., & Curby, T. W. (2016). The role of children’s adaptability in classrooms characterized by low or high teacher emotional support consistency. School Psychology Review. 45(2), 209-225. http://dx.doi.org/10.17105/SPR45-2.209-225
Kim, H., Byers, A., Cameron, C. E., Brock, L. L., Cottone, E. A., & Grissmer, D. W. (2016). Unique contributions of attentional control and visuomotor integration on concurrent teacher-reported classroom functioning in early elementary students. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 379–390.
Cameron, C. E., Brock, L. L., Hatfield, B., Cottone, E., Rubinstien, E., Locasale-Crouch, J., & Grissmer, D. (2015). Visuomotor skills compensate for inhibitory control as a predictor of preschool achievement and behavior, and vice versa. Developmental Psychology, 51(11), 1529-43. doi: 10.1037/a0039740
Brock, L. L., Rimm-Kaufman, S.E., & Wanless, S. B. (2014). Delay of gratification in first grade: The role of instructional context. Learning and Individual Differences, 29, 81-88. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2013.10.012
Brock, L. L., & Curby, T. W. (2014). Pre-K teachers’ emotional consistency and relationships with children: Relations to concurrent and later competence and problem behaviors. Early Education and Development, 25, pp. 661-680doi:10.1080/10409289.2014.866020.
Kim, H., Murrah, W. M., Cameron, C. E., Brock, L. L., Cottone, E. A., & Grissmer, D. W. (2014). Psychometric properties of the teacher-reported motor skills rating scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, doi: 10.1177/0734282914551536.
Curby, T. W., Brock, L. L., & Hamre, B. K. (2013). Teachers’ emotional support consistency predicts children’s achievement gains and social skills. Early Education and Development, 24, 292–309.
Ponitz, C. C., Brock, L. L., Murrah, W. M., Bell, L. H., Warzalla, S. L., Morrison, F. J., & Grissmer, D. W. (2012). Fine motor skills and executive function both contribute to kindergarten achievement. Child Development, 83, 1229-1244.
Cameron, C. E., Chen, W., Blodgett, J., Cottone, E., Mashburn, A. J., Brock, L. L., Grissmer, D. W. (2012). Preliminary validation of the motor skills rating system. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. doi: 0734282911435462.
Brock, L. L., Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Nathanson, L., & Grimm, K. J. (2009). The contribution of ‘hot’and ‘cool’ executive function to children’s academic achievement and classroom behavior. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24, 337-349.
Nathanson, L., Rimm-Kaufman, S.E., & Brock, L.L. (2009). Kindergarten adjustment difficulty: The Contribution of children's effortful control and parental control. Early Education and Development, 20, 775-798.
Ponitz, C. C., Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Brock, L. L., & Nathanson, L. (2009). Contributions of gender, early school adjustment, and classroom organizational climate to first grade outcomes. Elementary School Journal, 110, 142-162.
Rimm-Kaufman, S.E., Curby, T.W., Grimm, K., Nathanson, L., & Brock, L.L. (2009). The contribution of children’s self-regulation and classroom quality to children’s adaptive behaviors in the kindergarten classroom. Developmental Psychology, 45, 958-972.
Brock, L. L., Nishida, T. K., Chiong, C., Grimm, K.J., & Rimm-Kaufman, S. E. (2007). Children’s perceptions of the classroom environment and social and academic performance: A longitudinal analysis of the contribution of the Responsive Classroom® Approach. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 129-149.
INVITED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Brock, L. L., Curby, T. W., & Cannell-Cordier, A. L. (2018). Consistency in Children’s Classroom Experiences. In J. D. LoCasale-Crouch, K. Pears, & A. J. Mashburn (Eds). Children’s Transitions to Kindergarten. New York: Springer Publishing.
Brock, L. L. (2016). Brain Development. In D. L. Couchenour & K. Chrisman (Eds) The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Brock, L. L., Brock, C. D., & Thiedke, C. (2012). The role of executive function in medical non-adherence: A different perspective. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine.
Brock, L. L. & Rimm-Kaufman, S. E. (2006). Children’s self-regulation and school readiness: the transition to kindergarten. Children and Families: The Magazine of the National Head Start Association, 20(1), 42-48.
TECHNICAL REPORTS
Grissmer, D., Brock, L. L. , Duran, C., Mashburn, A., Cottone, E., Kim, H., Murrah, W., Cameron, C., Deutsch, N., Blodgett, J., Cordier A., Dormal, J., Walker K. (2018), Final Report: The Evaluation of the WINGS After-School Socio-Emotional Program for At-Risk Urban Children, Social Innovation Fund, Corporation for National and Community Service. https://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/evidenceexchange/EMCF_WINGS_Final_report_v2_011218_508v2.pdf
West, H., James, R. E., & Brock, L. L. (2017). Elementary Engineers Implementation Evaluation.
West, H., James, R.E., & Brock, L. L. (2015). WINGS Program Implementation Evaluation. https://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/evidenceexchange/EMCF_WINGS_Final_report_v2_implementation_report_011218_508.pdf
Abry, T. D. S., Brock, L. L., & Rimm-Kaufman, S. E. (2010) A Preliminary Report of the Contribution of the WINGS After-School Program to Students’ Social Development and Classroom Behavior. Unpublished Working Paper, University of Virginia.
Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (2009). Summative Evaluation for Arlington County School District. Unpublished Working Paper, University of Virginia.
Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (2009). Effective teacher-student interactions: Measuring and improving classroom practice. Web site http://www.teachstone.org