Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns by Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson, Michael B. Horn

Selected as one of the Best Books on Innovation, 2008 by BusinessWeek magazine Named the Best Human-Capital Book of 2008 by Strategy + Business magazine A crash course in the business of learning-from the bestselling author of The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution... Provocatively titled, Disrupting Class is just what America's K-12 education system needs--a well thought-through proposal for using technology to better serve students and bring our schools into the 21st Century. Unlike so many education 'reforms,' this is not small-bore stuff. For that reason alone, it's likely to be resisted by defenders of the status quo, even though it's necessary and right for our kids. We owe it to them to make sure this book isn't merely a terrific read; it must become a blueprint for educational transformation. --Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education A brilliant teacher, Christensen brings clarity to a muddled and chaotic world of education. --Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great According to recent studies in neuroscience, the way we learn doesn't always match up with the way we are taught. If we hope to stay competitive-academically, economically, and technologically-we need to rethink our understanding of intelligence, reevaluate our educational system, and reinvigorate our commitment to learning. In other words, we need disruptive innovation. Now, in his long-awaited new book, Clayton M. Christensen and coauthors Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson take one of the most important issues of our time-education-and apply Christensen's now-famous theories of disruptive change using a wide range of real-life examples. Whether you're a school administrator, government official, business leader, parent, teacher, or entrepreneur, you'll discover surprising new ideas, outside-the-box strategies, and straight-A success stories. You'll learn how Customized learning will help many more students succeed in school Student-centric classrooms will increase the demand for new technology Computers must be disruptively deployed to every student Disruptive innovation can circumvent roadblocks that have prevented other attempts at school reform We can compete in the global classroom-and get ahead in the global market Filled with fascinating case studies, scientific findings, and unprecedented insights on how innovation must be managed, Disrupting Class will open your eyes to new possibilities, unlock hidden potential, and get you to think differently. Professor Christensen and his coauthors provide a bold new lesson in innovation that will help you make the grade for years to come. The future is now. Class is in session. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly It's no secret that people learn in different ways, so why, the authors of this book ask, can't schools customize their teaching? The current system, designed for standardization, must by its nature ignore the individual needs of each student. The answer to this problem, the authors argue, is disruptive innovation, a principle introduced (and initially applied to business) by Harvard Business School professor Christensen in The Innovator's Dilemma. The idea is that an audience in need will benefit from even a faulty opportunity to fulfill that need; in education, the demand for individual instruction could be met through infinitely customizable online computer-based instruction. The authors, all professionals in education, present a solution to the ills of standardized education that's visionary but far-fetched; even they admit that their recommendations would be extremely difficult to implement in current school systems. Still, the authors' unusual case, though occasionally bogged down in tangents, is worthy reading for school administrators, teachers, parents and, perhaps most of all, software developers. Charts. Copyright ® Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From the Back Cover WARNING: THIS BOOK WILL CHALLENGE EVERYTHING YOU EVER LEARNED-ABOUT LEARNING After a barrage of business books that purport to 'fix' American education, at last a book that speaks thoughtfully and imaginatively about what genuinely individualized education can be like and how to bring it about. -Howard Gardner, author of Five Minds for the Future A decade ago, Clayton Christensen wrote a masterpiece, The Innovator's Dilemma, that transformed the way business looks at innovation. Now, he and two collaborators, Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson, have come up with another, focusing his groundbreaking theories of disruptive innovation on education. -David Gergen, US Presidential Advisor Clayton Christensen's insights just might shake many of us in education out of our complacency and into a long needed disruptive discourse about really fixing our schools. This will be a welcome change after decades in which powerful calls to action have resulted in only marginal improvements for our nation's school children. -Vicki Phillips, director of Education, Gates Foundation Full of strategies that are both bold and doable, this brilliant and seminal book shows how we can utilize technology to customize learning. I recommend it most enthusiastically. -Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester (NY) Teachers Association, and vice president of the American Federation of Teachers Finally we have a book from the business community that gets it. Disrupting Class from Clayton Christensen and colleagues points out that motivation is central to learning and that if schools and learning are to be transformed as they must be, motivation must be at the center of the work. They also point out how technology should be used to personalize learning and what the future might look like for schools. A must read for anyone thinking and worrying about where education should be headed. -Paul Houston, Executive Director, American Association of School Administrators Powerful, proven strategies for moving education from stagnation to evolution. -Christopher Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard Graduate School of Education Clayton Christensen and colleagues describe how disruptive technologies will personalize and, as a result, revolutionize learning. Every education leader should read this book, set aside their next staff meeting to discuss it, and figure out how they can be part of the improvement wave to come. -Tom Vander Ark, President, X PRIZE Foundation In Disrupting Class, Christensen, Horn and Johnson argue that the next round of innovation in school reform will involve learning software. While schools have resisted integrating technology for instruction, today's students are embracing technology in their everyday lives. This book offers promise to education reformers. -Kathleen McCartney, Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education The genius of Disrupting Class is the spotlight the book throws on how we can tap children's early enthusiasm for school by letting them learn in best-choice, individualized ways, the teacher's role transformed from 'sage on stage' to 'guide on the side.' --Seattle Times & Post-Intelligencer About the Author Clayton M. Christensen is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is co-founder of Innosight, a management consultancy, Rose Park Advisors, an investment firm, and Innosight Institute, a non-profit think tank. Christenen is the author or coauthor of five books including the New York Times bestsellers The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution. He serves as a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Michael B. Hornis a cofounder and Executive Director of Innosight Institute. He holds an AB from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. Curtis W. Johnson is a writer and consultant who has served as a college president, head of a public policy research organization, and chief of staff to governor Arne Carlson of Minnesota. Johnson and his colleagues were among the early proponents of what has become the chartered school movement.