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Right From the Start
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
A co-publication with Learning Forward
This guidebook walks through the entire process of implementation, from needs assessment to evaluation—with tools, pacing suggestions, and strategies that yield predictable results.
- Grade Level: PreK-12
- ISBN: 9781071913444
- Published By: Corwin
- Year: 2023
- Page Count: 280
- Publication date: May 01, 2023
Price: $39.95
Description
Finally, clear guidance on how to design programs that last
How many initiatives start with great fanfare only to end up accumulating dust on a shelf? Right From the Start tackles this challenge head on by offering a reliable, evidence-based implementation process. With upbeat clarity, this book examines the meaning of initiative, provides an intuitively sequenced structure and eagerly shares a vast array of tools. This is quite simply the book all veterans wish they had years ago.
Drawing on Marshall’s thousands of hours evaluating educational programs, this guidebook walks through the entire process of implementation, from needs assessment (more important than you think!) to evaluation—while providing strategies that yield predictable results. Organized to allow for reading cover to cover or to focus on a particular stage, the book includes
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Tools for analysis so you can effectively determine where you are and what you need
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Opportunities for self-assessment and reflection
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"Tales from the field" to help you avoid pitfalls and glean best practices
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Discussion questions for professional learning communities
Every educator and policy maker has ideas and knows exactly what will improve their school. That’s the easy part. But does the solution really fit the need of the school? Do the school players have the commitment or readiness to venture forward? To get it right the first time, apply Marshall’s model of implementation in your school.
Author(s)

James Marshall
measuring return on investment, Dr. Marshall’s unique approach relies on a proven mix of assessment and evaluation, appreciative inquiry, and empathic understanding that predictably yields quantifiable results. Clients particularly note his ability to use data—with novelty and persuasion—to drive change.
With over 200 publications to his credit, Dr. Marshall’s scholarship encompasses a diverse range of works that includes empirical research, program evaluation efforts, and policy development. His program evaluation endeavors are particularly significant and include over 250 individual studies of funded projects and program investments totaling more than $120 million dollars. This work has been funded by diverse agencies that include the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute for Library and Museum Services, the Public Broadcasting Service, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Transportation Security Administration. His work with state and local education agencies, school systems, and regional offices of education encompasses forty of the fifty United States.
Internationally, Dr. Marshall has influenced human and organization performance through his service on the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction (IBSTPI) board of directors. Here, his needs assessment-focused research assisted the organization in better understanding its audiences and their needs, as IBSTPI reformulated its long-term strategy and support of learning leaders worldwide.
He can be reached at marshall@sdsu.edu.
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
About the Author
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
Introduction: If Any Outcome Will Do...
Part I: Getting Smart Through Needs Assessment
Chapter 1: Success Starts with Understanding Needs
Chapter 2: What's Going on Here: Barriers and Strengths
Chapter 3: The People
Chapter 4: The Organization
Chapter 5: Summing Up Barriers and Strengths
Chapter 6: Let's Get Smart
Chapter 7: Collecting Needs Assessment Data
Chapter 8: Coming Closer to Clarity: Summarizing Needs
Part I Wrap-Up: Linda's Needs in Focus
Part II: Designing and Launching the Initiative
Chapter 9: Designing the Initiative
Chapter 10: Your Solution: Leading Initiative Design
Chapter 11: Facts About Fidelity
Chapter 12: Mapping the Initiative to Your School or District
Chapter 13: The Initiative Plan
Chapter 14: Leading Implementation Action Planning
Chapter 15: Early Wins
Chapter 16: Leadership to Sustain and Promote Programs Over Time
Chapter 17: Advice for Scaling Programs
Part II Wrap-up: Lessons in Leadership, Inventing the Initiative
Part III: From Implementation to Impact
Chapter 18: Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment
Chapter 19: Program Evaluation Planning
Chapter 20: The Evaluation Plan
Chapter 21: Three Program Evaluation Models
Chapter 22: Developing Evaluation Questions
Chapter 23: Data Collection Decisions
Chapter 24: Lining Things Up: A Critical Point in Evaluation Planning
Chapter 25: Making Findings Persuasive and Actionable
Chapter 26: Making Results Useful
Part III Wrap-up: Initiative Impact
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
Epilogue: Looking Ahead
Appendices
Glossary
References
Reviews
This is a carousel with review cards. Use the previous and next buttons to navigate.
Every educator and policy maker has ideas and knows exactly what will improveJohn Hattie
their school. That’s the easy part. But does the solution really fit the need of
the school? Do the school players have the commitment or readiness to venture
forward? To get it right the first time, apply Marshall’s model of implementation
in your school.
Emeritus Laureate Professor, University of Melbourne, Co-director, the Hattie Family Foundation
This is the strongest and most comprehensive book I have read on the topic ofPeter DeWitt
implementation. James Marshall has a deep understanding of how school leaders
and teachers need to implement initiatives, and he lays out how to do just that.
Corwin Author
Right From the Start offers poignant examples, tools, and processes, and it inspiresMichelle D. Young
confidence in the potential for program and organizational transformation in
multiple contexts. If you are seeking powerful, practical advice, this is the resource
you’ve been looking for.
Dean, Loyola Marymount University School of Education Professor of Leadership and Policy
James Marshall has a wise and dynamic approach to program design. I wish I hadVirginia E. Kelsen
found this book years ago.
Assistant Superintendent, Glendora Unified School District
James Marshall’s practical guide offers schools an invaluable tool to plan andJose Francisco Escobedo
strategize efforts that will ensure the expected student outcomes. This is a must
read for leaders who are passionate about equity and excellence for all students.
Executive Director, National Center of Urban School Transformation
Every leader who strives to make a difference can benefit from James Marshall’sJoseph E. Johnson
practical guide with its clear language and powerful examples. I wish I had studied
this book 40 years ago!
Founding Director, National Center for Urban School Transformation Professor and Dean Emeritus, San Diego State University
Right From the Start provides leadership teams with a simple yet detailed frameworkRay Boyd
they can utilize to examine the suitability of a program and to develop suitable
programs for their context. It will help you identify key elements for consideration
to ensure a higher level of implementation success.
West Swan (Dayton) Primary School
These tools support planning, selecting, monitoring, evaluating, and revisingHelene Alalouf
your programs collaboratively to raise teacher and student performance. The
intentional practices and questions lead from knowledge to action to reflection,
with appreciative inquiry.
Educational Consultant
James Marshall provides guideposts to avoid common mistakes. You will findDebra Tica Sanchez
common sense approaches to building good programs—understand the
audience, the needs, and the design with impact in mind. Stick with Marshall’s wise
observations and guidance to get it right for the long term.
Senior Vice President, Educational Media and Learning Experiences Corporation for Public Broadcasting
This is an essential guide for moving ideas into practice. All too often we areAndi Fourlis
disappointed when the intended outcomes of our initiatives are not achieved.
Marshall’s work provides what leaders need for action and success.
Superintendent, Mesa Public Schools
Other Titles in: Program Development & Evaluation | Leadership | Data-Driven Decision Making
For Instructors
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Related Professional Learning
Related WebinarsTools
- "We are not all the same!" How to Differentiate Supervision [Podcast]
- Getting Smart Through Needs Assessment - Right From the Start [Other]
- How to Get Your Initiatives to Stick Once and For All [Podcast]
- Introduction - Right From the Start [Other]
- Mapping the Initiative to Your School or District - Right From the Start [Other]