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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.

Customer Reviews:

• Tools of disruption
  This is a great read. I did have an issue with modular Linux "kernels" being creatively put together to form customized Linuxes. Since Linux is a monolithic kernel (with kernel modules for some drivers), I think the authors wanted to say that Linux "distributions" are flexible as you can many tools and applications into a custom distribution. In the education space Edubuntu and Fedora K12Linux are good examples of distributions specifically targeted to education. This quibble is just me geeking out.
  
  There was a lot of emphasis in the book about student centric learning with online courses and the ability of teachers, students and subject experts to create content without being skill programmers. The free as in freedom tool is already available to do that. Moodle is a outstanding environment for non-technical people to create and manage a disruptive class. Drupal is another friendly building option for online classes. Hopefully a revision of the book will dive into what is being accomplished by these tools....more info
• Fascinating look at disruptive innovation in education
  The very real value of this useful and, at times, pleasantly surprising book comes from the way the authors apply their expertise in innovation to the field of education. By approaching public education's crisis with new eyes - and conceptualizing education as a product or service like any other - Clayton M. Christensen (The Innovator's Dilemma), Michael B. Horn and Curtis W. Johnson provide insights that escape the tired loops of argument that often define discussions about public education. These writers' obvious willingness to look in new directions for learning innovation is matched by their genuine concern for everyone involved in education. However, they do seem a bit idealistic, as they focus so strongly on the pedagogical and conceptual aspects of education that they seem to skim over other concerns, like logistics and budgets. The authors acknowledge the legal monopoly governing public education without really addressing the social weight and inertia of such a monopoly. In fact, they seem to believe that positive disruption is almost inevitable. getAbstract recommends this thoughtful book to anyone interested in social change and education, and - not tangentially - in how new technologies affect societies....more info
• Inconsistent, and Off Track!
  Clayton Christensen previously has provided excellent insights on disruptive technologies within the business world. Unfortunately, he does not succeed with "Disrupting Class."
  
  Christensen begins noting that typical "solutions" do not up to scrutiny. Inflation-adjusted per-pupil expenditures have be doubled, with little result; further, Kentucky state accountability index performance between two districts varies inversely with expenditures - despite the lower-spending district also being more disadvantaged in pupil characteristics. (Christensen, however, offers no explanation of that the state accountability index is comprised. Other sources indicate it is vulnerable to distortion through low standards.) He also points out that U.S. education spending is about twice that of other developed nations.
  
  Others contend that new technology is key to improving pupil performance. Christensen, however, notes that computer availability has roughly doubled, again, with little impact.
  
  Perhaps pupil motivation is the key. Christensen "refutes" this explanation by reporting area scores in Montgomery County, Md. that meet or exceed minimums now match those of white pupils in non-poverty areas. (Christensen, however, fails to recognize that this is meaningless if the "minimum" standards are low.)
  
  Christensen then notes that the proportion of pupils taking science and engineering courses falls as a nation's prosperity increases - somehow failing to recognize that this supports a pupil motivation is key hypothesis. He also is oblivious to the decades-old trend for Asian and Jewish pupils to substantially outperform their peers.
  
  Later on in "Disrupting Class," Christensen reports favorable NAEP trends at the lower age levels as indicative of successes, failing to also notice that the 17-year-old scores have remained unchanged for decades - therefore, undermining his conclusion.
  
  The essence of "Disrupting Class" is that computers can make learning more effective and attractive by individualizing instruction. Unfortunately, this is directly contrary to his early observation that high-scoring nations primarily use rote instruction, while the lower-scoring U.S. uses pupil-centered, more individualized instruction.
  
  Bottom-Line: A well-intentioned, but seriously flawed book....more info
• Almost a Three, Solid Four for Americans Only
  The earlier books on innovation, and especially The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business (Collins Business Essentials), are better. I strongly recommend that you buy both the above book and this book to have a larger understanding.
  
  The book reads like a Harvard case study fleshed out from 40 pages to 230.
  
  The book has exactly one bottom line: that self-paced instruction using online learning and (this is the cool part) interaction with other languages and cultures (e.g. connect an Arab learning English with an American learning Arabic), is the only way to introduce flexibility. It is this human dimension that carried the book to a four for the US audience only.
  
  Everywhere else in the world they substitute discipline for technology and do quite well. I was troubled by the book/s very narrow focus. There is no consideration in this book, for example, of any of the following (just one example per literature category):
  
  Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning!
  Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
  The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past
  Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin
  Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq
  The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World
  Idea Of A University: Philosophy (Notre Dame Series in the Great Books)
  Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography
  Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace
  
  Flyleaf notes:
  
  + Need to migrate from monolithic "one size fits all" methods (meaning teacher talks, all listen, or "didactic instruction" to student-centric technologies (my note: rather than human scale and practice)
  
  + Ages 0-4 are where the child actually learns all the self-confidence and other characteristics needed to succeed down the road (but no real discussion of this and how computers could help, that I saw)
  
  + Schools are too standardized, need modularity and flexibility (of course this is what the last two generations, and especially Generation 2.0, have been telling us--schools beat the creativity out of kids by the fourth grade, and today the best student drop out of high school rather than sit still for another two years).
  
  + They give Gardner full credit for discovering multiple intelligences, but they lost me a second time when they focus only on technology as the innovative solution, and fail to properly develop the theme for art, music, theater, social work, apprenticeships, and etcetera. This is a book with one simple message and focus on computers in the US classroom.
  
  + Schools have four jobs (none of them actively discussed in dollar and cents or program planning terms):
  - Preserve democracy, inculcate values
  - Provide something for every student
  - Keep America competitive (ha. China graduates more HONOR students than we graduate students across the board)
  - Eliminate poverty (this is a bit lame, reflecting no appreciation for structured inequalities outside the classroom, as well as political disenfranchisement and banking fraud including red-lining for future development profit).
  
  The authors repeat one of the pearls of wisdom from The Innovators Dilemma (link in first line above), and suggest that those who wish to innovate should go after those not served, citing Apple's genius in offering its early computers as toys for children.
  
  + Four factors are in favor of innovation (in US schools):
  - Computer-based learning keeps improving (see Don't Both Me Mom, link above, that book ends with recommendations for learning programs across the board that are online now)
  - All can select pathways (this assumes they have been taught discipline and curiosity someplace along the line)
  - Looming teacher shortage (I agree--advanced child care and factory worker angle are history--we need to learn to learn in all places)
  - Costs fall significantly as market scales
  
  They spend too much time on three business models, my first hint this might be a Harvard Case Study in book form:
  - Solution shops
  - Value chains
  - Facilitated user networks
  
  I write down from the book "best to combine disruptive business model with disruptive commercial system." I have no idea what this means. From the poverty literature (see my lists), I received the idea of hybrid organizations, non-profits that catalyzed profits sufficient to attract foreign investment, e.g. low cost nutritious yogurt for children in India). Perhaps that is what they mean, I concluded after reading this twice that maybe they meant go after those not served *and* make it free at first (upgrades can cost).
  
  Harnessing user-generated content is a key idea that may not be noticed. It is in fact the foundation for Web 2.0 and I expect the human factor will continue to scale in importance and the cost of technology declines.
  
  The book ends weakly, with disappointing coverage of the 0-4 age or on educational research needed. They conclude with short messages for various stakeholder groups.
  
  I went back through the book a second time, and would note that there are some very clever useful visualizations in the book, especially Figure 8.2 on page 187, and these alone are worth the price of the book.
  
  In the end for me, the book was worthwhile but could have so much better if they had started with innovation ideas for each of the stake-holder groups they address in ending. The five billion poor are never going to be educated in a classroom, but we *can* give out free cell phones and create two call centers, one in China and one in India, that combine Internet access, Skype free telephone access, and access to a global network of 100 million or more volunteers able to answer any question in any language, free, at the time of it value to the poor person asking the question. THAT is world-class innovation because it creates infinite wealth, and does not limit itself to justifying charter schools because they can buy more computers....more info
• The Way of the Future in Education
  The authors are on to something really, really big here- the eventual replacement of the method of instruction that has been in use since before the days of Socrates.
  
  [...]...more info
• disrutive innovation applied to K-12
  This is an excellent read for educators and anyone else interested in learning more about the change process and why significant institutional change in education doesn't happen frequently or effectively! ...more info
• Disrupting Thoughts - Innovation Theory applied to Education
  Having skimmed Disrupting Innovation by Clay Christensen, I found myself able to dive deeper into this book because it was written about an area that I'm passionate about - Education.
  
  If you are familiar with innovation theory, this won't seem very new. If you've been thinking about how to improve public schools -- you may disagree with this book -- his area of expertise is *not* education.
  
  What I took from this book is a different way of thinking about education: in my case adult education. I found it to be useful--not exhaustive. I found it to be well-written--not for an academic audience. But most of all, as someone who is struggling to find a framework that is both inspiring and that works, I found this book hit the sweet spot for me. I believe it adds to the dialogue around how we bring technology into the core of learning in a very meaningful way.
  
  Below is a summary I pulled from this book after I was about 1/2 of the way through.
  
  (A)
  - Schools have done a great job adjusting to changes we've asked of them over the past 100 years. Most businesses would have failed.
  - We keep shifting the goal posts on schools
  - Schools have 4 distinct jobs: eliminate poverty, keeping the country competitive, providing something for every student, preserve/inculcate democracy.
  
  (B)
  Moving schools to a student-centric model through use of computer-based technology can be done using disruptive innovation theory. This means deploying computer-based instruction in areas of non-consumption and letting the innovation take hold and improving gradually over time. Innovation adoption is an S curve (logarithmic).
  
  (C)
  What is meant by non-consumption - those areas where teacher-led instruction cannot happen (i.e. rural or remote areas); where individual schools do not have enough demand to offer as a teacher-led class (i.e., learning Arabic or Mandarin) but where districts may have the demand; or for remedial classes which happen in off-season.
  
  Christensen is from Harvard, so his work is influenced by the School of Education there. He appears to be influenced by Larry Cuban; William Baumol; and Ted Kolderie of Education Evolving.
  
  Hope you find it as good as a read as I did.
  
  --end--...more info
• Disruptive thinking for the classroom
  I am a layperson with an interest in education and technology. I read Innovator's Dilemma and was anxious to see if Clayton Christensen could apply his unique business lens to sort through, and perhaps solve the issues concerning our failing public education system.
  
  He and his colleagues didn't disappoint me.
  
  This book was eminently readable and layer by layer, uncovered the weaknesses in the way we educate our kids. It's not simply a matter of putting technology in schools or tutoring kids who learn differently; it's a matter of changing the way the monolithic system, and entrenched stakeholders, work against innovation and creativity in learning by challenging the underlying foundations of that system.
  
  According to Christensen, flexible individualized instruction combined with the proper use of technology, rewiring content development and distribution channels, and the creation of online networks of students, parents and teachers working together instead of in opposition, can revolutionize education in the United States.
  
  If you care about the future of education, and of a child's ability to compete in the global economy, read this book....more info
• Accessible and engaging, an informative read that will get you talking
  As someone who enjoyed her twelve years in the American public education system and believes that there is no higher calling than becoming a teacher (and does not work in education), I found this book to be fascinating - it challenged my long-held views about learning and teaching - and encouraging - which I was not expecting, given the current dismal state of so much of the American public education system. Yet Disrupting Class was a refreshing read and it has created a new discourse on a familiar topic: how to improve the American public education system.
  
  Professor Christensen's theories of disruptive innovation are cogently explained for the unfamiliar and for those who need a refresher (like myself). The theories and their corresponding case studies are fascinating in and of themselves (think a cliff notes version of Christensen's previous books). The breadth of industries they cover creates a compelling argument to not only allow for but to encourage disruption in public education.
  
  The authors' scholarship in innovation is evident; their prediction of when student-centric technologies (the disruptive innovation) will take hold is not conditional, rather, it is absolute: "by 2019, 50 percent of high school courses will be delivered online." I admired the authors for their willingness to walk the reader through the s-curves and logarithmic axes needed to reach this conclusion - to me, it was one of many instances in which the authors, an eclectic trio, bridge the often unnecessarily wide gap between the "business world" and the "education world." I was left wanting more detail about these "student-centric" technologies that would teach to Gardner's different intelligences but also appreciated that the authors kept to the bounds of their expertise and research.
  
  America has struggled for years to improve public education from the top via government policy. Allowing for change from the bottom presents less risk and a lower cost of failure to the existing system. A solid understanding of Christensen's theories has brought great success to its adopters (and failure to those who have ignored it) in such a wide range of sectors that it seems almost irresponsible for anyone who cares about education to not read this book.
  
  Disrupting Class doesn't have all the solutions, nor does it claim to. What this book does offer is a new framework within which to think about creating positive, lasting change on the type of scale needed to be meaningful and suggestions on how to realize this.
  
  Read this book and learn the language of disruption and why simply buying more computers, aka "cramming" doesn't work. Be inspired by the work of companies such as Apex Learning, Florida Virtual School, and K12, and start your own dialogues about new student-centric technologies that will revolutionize the way the next generation learns.
  ...more info
• Good but not great
  A good book that should be read by everyone including Obama - the education president! That American education needs to be reformed is not the issue anymore - how to reform it is the question. Other countries have used national testing and scores to standardize school quality. This coupled with affordable tutoring will improve individual student's performance. The advent of affordable tutoring via online tutoring from TutorVista and other companies makes this feasible at this point in time. Read this book - it might not provide all the answers but at least it asks all the right questions!
  
  Srini Anumolu...more info