Clayton M. Christensen on Disruptive Education

Lecture Context-

 

Clayton M. Christensen is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is often regarded as the leading authority on the concept of “disruptive innovation.” During the Benjamin Cluff Jr. Annual Lecture, sponsored by the David O. McKay School of Education, Christensen’s address was entitled: “Theories of Disruption in Education.” In 2008, Christensen published a book on the subject entitled “Disrupting Class.”

Two Questions-

 

Christensen motivated his lecture around two questions: “What is the future of higher education in the United States,” and “Why are our k-12 schools struggling to improve?” Seeking to apply his business theory of Disruptive Innovation to Education, Christensen began by explaining the theory through examples. He emphasized the concept of a “core technology” or a technology that is foundational for an industry, such as a unibody design for automobile manufacturers. When this core technology is changed or “disrupted” through innovation, the market and industry can be significantly altered. Unlike a majority of manufacturing companies, Education, according to Christensen, had no core technology to be disrupted until the advent of online learning. In order to replicate a university and its benefits, it was formerly necessary to emulate an existing institution. Furthermore, Christensen noted that “no university competes on the basis of price, but rather on the basis of improvement.” These two statements succinctly describe why our educational system has remained fundamentally unchanged for so long. Forces that encourage innovation and improvement in the business world have been largely cancelled out in the domain of education.

In the concluding portion of his lecture, Christensen described how future universities might be built by comparing interdependent and modular architectures. He concluded that “online learning will be employed as a hybrid in both k-12 and at universities.”

Historical Proof in the Real World-

Dr. Christensen utilized historical proof throughout his presentation in validation of his arguments. For example, Christensen illustrated how hybrid technologies (such as online learning) could develop by reminding the audience how steam replaced sails on ocean-crossing ships. Steam-powered boats were originally developed for use on inland waterways, where wind power was unreliable. In its early stages, steam was not powerful enough to propel large ships on sea-crossings. As the technology improved, however, ocean vessels began harnessing both and wind and steam (a hybrid arrangement) to make their trips until steam technology matured enough to render sails obsolete.