Comprehensive resources for parents and professionals in play-based early childhood education

Rodney R. Cocking


Dr. Rodney R. Cocking is considered one of the first scholars to seriously consider digital media’s impact on children’s learning. His work revolved around how children symbolically represent media and his belief that media research should inform educational issues. He was the author of several books, and as a member of the National Academy of Science Committees, he co-authored the book How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School. Dr. Cocking was also involved in the development of The Children’s Digital Media Center at the National Science Foundation. It’s considered a tribute to his scientific legacy. Dr. Cocking was murdered in 2002 at the age of 59.

Publications
  • Blueprints for Thinking: The Role of Planning in Cognitive Development

    Cocking, Rodney R. (1987). Blueprints for Thinking: The Role of Planning in Cognitive Development.

  • Interacting With Video (Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology)

    Cocking, Rodney R. (1996). Interacting With Video (Advances in Applied Developmental Psychology).

  • How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School

    Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000) How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School. Washington, D.C., National Research Council, National Academy Press. The development of learning begins in infancy and extends throughout our lives. New research about the mind, brain, and the processes of learning are discussed in this book. It describes a number of experiments and studies that prove infants as young as five weeks old are capable of learning. The authors outline four essential and interrelated features of successful early learning: A child’s education must be learner, knowledge, assessment and community centered. Theories and insights for teachers on how to put this into practice are also outlined.

  • Children in the Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development

    Calvert, Sandra L., Cocking, Rodney R. & Jordan, Amy B. (2002). Children in the Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development.