Ruth Shagoury

Mary Stuart Rogers Professor of Education

Rogers Hall 427, MSC: 14

Ruth Shagoury (formerly Hubbard) was the Mary Stuart Rogers Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education at Lewis & Clark College. With Andie Cunningham, Ruth coordinated the Department of Teacher Education’s Language and Literacy Program, which leads to Oregon reading specialist certification. She works with students of all ages, from pre-school through adult learning situations, teaching in classrooms as well as conducting workshops across the United States and Canada.

She is the author of twelve books, most recently Home is Where the Books Are: Creating Literate Spaces, Choosing Books, and Why It Matters (Choice Literacy, 2013) co-authored with Meghan Rose;  Living the Questions: A Guide for Teacher-Researchers (Stenhouse, 2012) co-authored with Brenda Power; Raising Writers: Understanding and Nurturing Young Children’s Writing Development (Allyn & Bacon, 2009); and Starting with Comprehension: Reading Strategies with the Youngest Learners (Stenhouse, 2005) co-authored with Andie Cunningham.

Ruth’s video/DVD and workshop guide, Write from the Start: Conferring with Young English Language Learners, co-written with Andie Cunningham, came out in September 2006. Her articles about literacy, research, and teaching have appeared in numerous journals. She also contributes regularly to Choice Literacy. Check out her blog at Litforkids.

Personal Statement

“Portland feels like home after moving here from New Hampshire. I used to be a middle school teacher and reading specialist, and now I work with new and veteran teachers in our master of arts in teaching program. I teach the three R’s: Reading, ‘Riting, and Research (the good kind, Teacher Research). My passions are poetry, kids, New Orleans Jazz, Rock’n’Roll, chocolate, chai tea, and Jim Whitney. I’m trying to learn Spanish and practice whenever I can with the kids at Head Start and Ron Russell Middle School. I’m also relearning what it means to be in kindergarten by volunteering in Andie Cunningham’s kindergarten classroom at Arleta K-8 School in Portland Public School district one day a week. “

Areas of Expertise

Teaching for Justice & Equity, Second Language Literacy, Teacher-research, New Teacher Support, Writing & Reading across the Curriclum, Art-literacy Connections

Current Research

Ruth’s current research is focused on language and literacy acquisition with diverse student populations. She is also conducting ongoing research with teacher researchers, especially around the issues of teaching and social justice.

Publications

  • “Language to Language:  Nurturing Writing Development in Multilingual Classrooms.” In Spotlight on Young Children:  Exploring Language and Literacy (NAEYC), June 2014.
  • “Testing What Matters Least:  What We Learned When We Took the Praxis Reading Test” (co-authored with Maika Yeigh and Andie Cunningham) Rethinking Schools,Summer, 2011.
  • “What do New Teachers Need?:  Beginning Teachers Working in Diverse Urban Schools (co-authored with Dr. Jessica Early)  Educational Leadership, May 2010.
  • Shagoury, Ruth & Power, B. (2012). Living the Questions: A Guide for Teacher Researchers. York, ME: Stenhouse Press.
  • Shagoury, Ruth (2009). Raising Writers: Understanding and Nurturing Young Children’s Writing Development. Columbus, OH: Allyn & Bacon.
  • Shagoury, Ruth & Cunningham, A. (2005). Starting with Comprehension: Reading Strategies with the Youngest Learners. York, ME: Stenhouse Press.
  • Hubbard, Ruth, & Makler, A. (2000). Teaching for Justice in the Social Studies Classroom: Millions of Intricate Moves. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Press.

Academic Credentials

PhD 1988, MEd 1981 University of New Hampshire, BA 1972 Colby College

Location: Rogers Hall