America's education system was once the hope of future generations, but sadly, a lack of innovation in the sector has undermined its effectiveness. Study after study shows our nation's young learners struggling to keep up with their peers abroad, and as gains in the classroom slow to a crawl, the nation's very future is threatened. America's competitive edge rests in the hands of today's students, but our longstanding educational model is no longer capable of teaching those students the skills necessary to maintain and nurture America's international leadership position.
A variety of forces are conspiring to constrain education in the U.S., and the dominant education research paradigm doesn't help, as it consistently fails to show the way forward.
This dire outlook on the state of education in America sets the stage for the new book: Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns. Co-authored by Harvard Business School Professor and bestselling business writer Clayton M. Christensen, public policy expert Curtis Johnson and education researcher Michael Horn, the book examines the nation's problematic educational system and unveils an innovative educational model that zeroes in on the nation's major educational failures and points the way to improvement.
"Every year, America pours more and more money into its schools, but it fails to result in improved student performance," says Christensen, a leading business strategist and Harvard Business School professor. "A variety of forces are conspiring to constrain education in the U.S., and the dominant education research paradigm doesn't help, as it consistently fails to show the way forward."
Recognizing the need for a system-wide upheaval, the co-authors approach education reform from a business and innovation viewpoint, as they explain how a revolutionary change is needed to "disrupt" the flawed educational system and set American students on the path to achievement. They frame their ideas in Christensen's groundbreaking theory of disruptive innovation, originally outlined in his blockbuster seller The Innovator's Dilemma. The theory explains how entire industries are overturned and revolutionized by the introduction of a single, new technology that delivers simplicity, convenience, accessibility and affordability.
The co-authors predict that the disruptive innovation that will revolutionize the education system is student-centric technology that offers customized learning. In Disrupting Class, the co-authors draw on extensive research of schools and educational programs nationwide to highlight certain technologies that support this individualized approach to education. They herald one such innovation, computer-based learning, as the primary mechanism to push toward customized learning.
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