04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 1

Disrupting Class:How Disruptive Innovation Will

Change the Way the World Learns

Curtis Johnson

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 2

The cork

New Normal

Challenge to America – to Education

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 3

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 4

Disruption in business models has been the dominant historical mechanism for making

things more affordable and accessible

Today• Toyota• Wal-Mart• Dell• Southwest Airlines• Fidelity• Canon• Microsoft• Oracle• Cingular• Merrill Lynch• Apple iPod

Yesterday• Ford• Dept. Stores• Digital Eqpt.• Delta• JP Morgan• Xerox• IBM• Cullinet• AT&T• Dillon, Read• Sony DiskMan

Tomorrow:• Chery• Internet retail• RIM Blackberry• Air taxis• ETFs• Zink• Linux• Salesforce.com• Skype• E-Trade• Cell Phones

Per

form

ance

Time

45% on$250,000

40% 20% on $2,000

Disruptive

Innovations

Time

Sustaining innovations

Ability to use

improvements

Pace of performance

improvement

Incumbents dominate sustaining battles

Entrants typically win at disruption

Decentralization is disruptive, and is hard to catch

60% on$500,000

Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 7

Centralization followed by decentralization: Computing

.com

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 9

Schools have constantly improved

Time

No

. B

as

ic S

ch

oo

ls

Time

Bre

ad

th o

f O

ffe

rin

gs

Av

era

ge

Te

st

Sc

ore

s

Pe

rce

nt

Pro

fic

ien

tJob 1: Preserve/InculcateDemocracy

Job 2: ProvideSomething for EveryStudent

Job 3: Keep AmericaCompetitive

Job 4: Eliminate Poverty

K12 business model ripe for disruption

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 10

Worn Out Assumptions Emerging Realities

Knowledge scarce, hard to access Knowledge readily available

Subjects – courses – sequence Multi-dimensional learning

Improvement by command Crucial role of motivation

Students learn same way/same time Kids more different than ever

Standardization – batch processing Radical personalization

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 11

We all learn differently

Linguistic

Logical- mathematical

Spatial

Bodily- kinesthetic

Musical

Interpersonal

Intrapersonal

Naturalist

Lea

rnin

g S

tyle

s

Mu

ltip

le I

nte

llig

ence

s

Visual

Written

Aural

Playful

Deliberate Pac

es o

f L

earn

ing

Fast

Medium

Slow

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 12

Prime examples of non-consumption

• Credit recovery

• Drop-outs

• AP Courses

• Home-schooled and homebound students

• Small, rural, and urban schools

• Tutoring

• Pre-K

Disrupting Schooling

1.0

2.0

3.0

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 13

On-line learningNow fully into 3.0

Robust across curriculum

Individualized and Interactive

Becoming the best option

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 14

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 15

Perfect opportunity to implement computer-based learning disruptively

Non-c

onsu

mer

s

or N

on-

cons

umin

g

occa

sions

Time

Computer-

based learning:

Compete against

non-consumption

Po

litic

al im

po

rtan

ce

of

pro

gra

m

Time

German

Statistics

Psychology

EconomicsEnglish language & literature

Science

Math

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 16

The substitution of one thing for another always follows an S-curve

pattern

% new

% new% old

.001

.0001

.01

0.1

1.0

10.0

09 11070503 13 15

04/21/23 Copyright Clayton M. Christensen 17

Online learning gaining adoption

Online Enrollments (9-12 Grade)

0.0001

0.001

0.01

0.1

1

10

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

On

lin

e/O

ve

rall

En

roll

me

nts

(9

-12

Gra

de

)

Enrollments up from 45,000 in 2000 to 1,000,000 in 2007