Disrupting Class, Expanded Edition: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns

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McGraw Hill Professional, Sep 17, 2010 - Business & Economics - 272 pages
Clay Christensen's groundbreaking bestselling work in education now updated and expanded, including a new chapter on Christensen's seminal "Jobs to Be Done" theory applied to education.

"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

“Just as iTunes revolutionized the music industry, technology has the potential to transform education in America so that every one of the nation’s 50 million students receives a high quality education. Disrupting Class is a must-read, as it shows us how we can blaze that trail toward transformation.”
—Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida

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.

From inside the book

Contents

Introduction
1
Randall Circle High School
19
Why Schools Struggle to Teach Differently When Each Student Learns Differently
21
Making the Shift Schools Meet Societys Jobs
43
Crammed Classroom Computers
71
Disruptively Deploying Computers
89
The System for StudentCentric Learning
121
The Impact of the Earliest Years on Students Success
147
Why So Many Students Seem Unmotivated
159
Improving Education Research
183
Organizing to Innovate
205
Conclusion
241
Index
249
Copyright

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About the author (2010)

Author Information
Clayton M. Christensen
is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, and is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on innovation and growth. He is author or coauthor of five books including the New York Times bestsellers, The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution.
Michael Horn is the co-founder and Executive Director, Education of Innosight Institute, a non-profit think tank devoted to applying the theories of disruptive innovation to problems in the social sector. Tech&Learning magazine named him to its list of the 100 most important people in the creation and advancement of the use of technology in education. He holds an AB from Yale and an MBA from Harvard.
Curtis Johnson, once a teacher and later a college president, is a writer and consultant. He was head of the public policy research organization that launched the idea of chartered schools and chief of staff to former governor Arne Carlson of Minnesota. Co-author of three books on how metropolitan regions have to adapt to new realities to be successful places, Johnson is a partner with the Citistates Group and the managing partner of Education Evolving, a project of the Center for Policy Studies. He is a graduate of Baylor University with a PhD from the College of Education at the University of Texas.

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