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How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns
As businesses pour billions of dollars and millions of employee volunteer hours into schools, they wonder why these efforts have done little to narrow the achievement gap between American students and their counterparts around the world.
One reason, according to the book Disrupting Class, is that the way we learn doesn’t always match up with the way we are taught.
But 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.”
At the Boston College Center’s recent business-education summit, co-author Curtis Johnson presented the now-famous “disruption” theories and how those theories might better equip schools to meet the needs of students in the 21st century.
Johnson explained how disruption theory can be applied to education, and suggested that we look outside the system to see how advances in technology can help transform schools into 21st century learning environments.
He began by explaining two forms of innovation:
- Sustaining innovation is the kind of innovation that makes a product better but sometimes outpaces the need of the customer. For example, cars can reach speeds of 160 miles per hour, but do we actually need cars to go that fast? In general the companies that lead in sustaining innovation are usually industry leaders.
- Innovation from outside – disruptive innovation – begins small, typically from a set of customers not well-served, and has the potential to transform an industry. These are often simpler, cheaper products that aren’t targeting the main customer.
The personal computer industry is a prime example of disruptive innovation. By focusing only on the needs of their best customers, giants like Digital Equipment Corporation became obsolete as a revolution in personal computing took over the market.
In fairness to schools, they were initially founded on the premise that that knowledge is scarce, and only a few students needed a certain set of skills. In this scenario, it is assumed that knowledge can be organized into well structured courses, that a person at the front of the room could impart that knowledge, and that all students can learn at the same pace, in the same way, in the same hour.
Schools have performed to the best of their ability. They added school lunch, desegregated, added testing to improve accountability – tried to adjust to each new demand for improvement.
But society keeps moving the goalposts for schools, and now we are demanding that a majority of students be prepared for the 21st century.
For example, businesses have spent more than $60 billion providing computers for schools, but traditional teaching methods have not changed and schools are using computers as a tool, not a method for providing primary content and instruction.
Our schools listen to their best customers, said Johnson – those who can sit, listen and absorb information from a teacher at the front of the class. But many students today are wired differently. They are digitized and they approach learning differently. They multi-task and motivation is key to their success.
Charter schools were innovative. They came from the outside. Although not a panacea, they have provided an opportunity for students, parents and teachers to change the learning environment. They gave teachers an opportunity to be more professional, and they allowed American businesses to play a greater role in school policy and curriculum.
Innovative technology and sophisticated software will have a huge impact on the role of the teacher going forward. Some predict that in less than a decade the majority of learning will take place on line. In the future schools students and teachers will have to access information from varied content providers, collaborate, work in teams, and learn how to work with people who are different from themselves. No longer the sole director of content, teachers will need to take on the role of coach/facilitator.
American business leaders are frustrated by their failure to impact our nation’s education system, but they need to better understand the system they are trying to change. One of the biggest barriers to changing our education system, said Johnson, is that schools are conservative environments layered with politics, and change happens slowly.
Change also comes slowly because the people who are making the changes did well in the old system, and as such they are invested in keeping that system alive
Change will occur as new innovative systems improve, while schools and teachers adjust and prepare for the demands for engaging, relevant individualized learning environments.
May 21st, 2009 at 3:49 PM
If we start to think about education as preparation for careers in the creative economy then it will change how and what we teach our students.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Have been sitting on the sidelines for a few weeks but just wanted to finally say I appreciate your comments – keep them coming please as I’m a weekly reader – thanks!