The American educational system is broken. This presentation introduces some ideas by Clayton Christensen and his concept of Disruptive Innovations.

1. 
Disruptive Innovations & America’s Educational System
Evan Kropp | University of Georgia | July 12, 2012
Photo Credit: Ben Vickery, http://www.flickr.com/photos/benjaminj/2917736366/

2. Introduction
 Primary Source:
Christensen, C.M., Horn, M.B., Johnson, C.W. (2008).
Disrupting class: how disruptive innovation will change the
way the world learns. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 LEARN about disruptive innovations
 EXAMPLES
 APPLY to student-centric learning in K-12 education
 DISCUSS diffusion of authors ideas / current state
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3. Disruptive Innovations
 Clayton Christensen, Kim B. Clark Professor of
Business Administration at the Harvard
Business School
 The Innovator’s Dilemma (1997)
 Disruptive Innovation: “Describes a process
by which a product or service takes root
initially in simple applications at the bottom
of a market and then relentlessly moves ‘up
market’, eventually displacing established
competitors”
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Photo Credit: http://www.claytonchristensen.com/bio.html
Definition: http://www.claytonchristensen.com/disruptive_innovation.html

4. 2 Types of Innovations
 Sustaining Innovations
 Most innovations are sustaining
 “They provide better quality or additional functionality from an
organizations most demanding customers”
 Disruptive Innovations
 “Don’t meet existing customers’ needs as well as currently
available products or services”
 “Typically simpler, more convenient, and less expensive, so they
appeal to new or less demanding customers”
Source: Christensen, 2006, p. 96
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5. 2 Types of Disruptive Innovations
 Low-End: “Attack the least-profitable and most over-served
customers at the low end of the original value market”
 New-Market: “Create a new value network, where it is in the
non consumption, not the incumbent, which must be
overcome”
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Source: Hang, 2010, p. 437

6. Disrupting Class – Book Overview
 Educational system in America is broken
 Need to move toward student-centric learning
 Accomplish this with technology (hardware/software)
personalized for each students intelligence & learning style
 Need to implement solution as a disruptive innovation in order
to succeed.
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7. Intelligence & Learning Styles
 Current (broken) system is based on standardization
 Need to focus on student-centric methods
 Agreement: People learn in different way, but no consensus on
how
 Intelligence: Howard Gardner 8 categories: linguistic, logical-mathematical,
spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal,
intrapersonal and naturalist. Most people will excel in two to
three of these areas
 Learning Styles: Example, visual vs. aural
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Source: Clayton M. Christensen et al., 2008, p. 26

8. 7
Current Educational Method

9. 8
Proposed Student-Centric Educational Model

10. History of School Performance
 Educational system created to “preserve democracy”
 Schools have changed over time
 Keep up with global competition
 Meet demands of politicians (No Child Left Behind)
 Have introduced computers…$60 billion invested over past 20
years. But, has not changed anything.
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Source: Clayton M. Christensen et al., 2008

11. How to Introduce Student-Centric Learning
 Early developments need to serve niche markets, areas where
there is no other education option.
Example: AP, Subject choices. Take advantage of limitations in
current system. Budget, physical location, etc…
 1st: Introduce computer-based learning with similar traditional
approaches to learning. Example: place videos of lectures on
computer.
 2nd: Expand to student-centric technology with specialized
software customizable to differences in intelligence and styles.
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Source: Clayton M. Christensen et al., 2008

12. Diffusion
 Rate = Slow
“Disruptive innovation happens in a process”
(Hang, 2010, p. 436)
 Four factors to help accelerate substitution
(internal & external factors)
 Need to continue to develop and improve technologies
 Need to customize learning plans for students
 Anticipated teacher shortage will drive demand
 As market grows, costs reduced
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Source: Clayton M. Christensen et al., 2008

13. Diffusion - Challenges
 Some challenges, also internal and external
 Teachers unions will oppose changes
 Schools focus is on teaching to tests, not providing better ways of
learning
 Teaching to test limits course offerings (but also providing
opportunity)
 Disruption to commercial support system (textbook and material
suppliers) must also occur.
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Source: Clayton M. Christensen et al., 2008

14. Diffusion – Topics to be Addressed
 Who will be the change agents?
 Mary Goodwin (2010), professional writing instructor
advocates instructors
 What channels will change agents use to communicate?
 The nature of the beast, large, public, political
 Christensen made predictions….
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15. Diffusion Predictions
 Writing in 2008
 By “about” 2012 the rate of adoption would begin to favor
student-centric learning
(perhaps a bit overly optimistic)
 5%-50% market share by 2018
(nothing like a nice wide predictive range)
 80% diffusion by 2024
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Source: Clayton M. Christensen et al., 2008

16. Today
 So, where should we be today?
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17. Conclusion
 What was this book again?
Christensen, C.M., Horn, M.B., Johnson, C.W. (2008).
Disrupting class: how disruptive innovation will change the
way the world learns. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 What did you just present?
 LEARN about disruptive innovations
 EXAMPLES
 APPLY to student-centric learning in K-12 education
 DISCUSS diffusion of authors ideas / current state
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18. Sources
 Christensen, C. M. Key Concepts - Disruptive Innovation. Retrieved July 7, 2012,
from http://www.claytonchristensen.com/disruptive_innovation.html
 Christensen, C. M., Baumann, H., Ruggles, R., & Sadtler, T.M. (2006). Disruptive
Innovation for Social Change. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 94-101.
 Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., & Johnson, C. W. (2008). Disrupting class : how
disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
 Godwin, M. (2010). Disruptive Technology: What Is It? How Can It Work for
Professional Writing? Writing Instructor.
 Hang, C. C., Yu, D. (2010). A Reflective Review of Disruptive Innovation Theory.
International Journal Of Management Reviews, 12(4), 435-452.
 Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press.
 Schmidt, G. M., & Druehl, C. T. (2008). When Is a Disruptive Innovation
Disruptive? Journal Of Product Innovation Management, 25(4), 347-369.
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19. Thank You
Evan L. Kropp
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication
kropp@uga.edu
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