Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools
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bler Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker Foreword by Clayton M. Christensen JJ JOSSEY-BASS ~ A W iley Brand -># -~~~ .. ~ ......... !-~ K·l· ·~-~ ~AR~;~o v~PtER ;;~-~v:;11 ·i ~ ;;, GRADU ATE SCHOOl OF ED UCAT ION .' cover Design: Wiley . ~ ~ MONROE C. GUTMAN LIBRARY ~ .; Cover Image: © hakkiarslan I by Thmkstoc ~~~·"·. ,..._._,~.,.,, . ~ : ~.., lol>~~'-d..')£i..k~~~.ll~~ ~ ~--- ... ollo .... .__"'0...11r, 'P'tl...,.. ,.,~,. .'_ • Copyright© 2015 by Michael B. Horn, Heather Staker. 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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and is on file with the Library of Congress. ISBN 9781118955154 (hardcover); ISBN 9781118955178 (ebk.); ISBN 9781118955161 (ebk.) Printed in the United States of America FIRST EDITION HCPrinting 10987654321 Chapter 6 Elevate Teaching A recurring theme in this book is that blended learning entails more than layering technology on top of traditional classrooms; it involves a deeper redesign of the instructional model. Ideally, the design effort should begin wi th a singular devotion to fulfilling the students' jobs to be done and then consider how to integrate the other parts of the school-from the teachers to the facilities, curriculum, and culture- to deliver the right experiences. The responsibility to integrate teachers successfully into the design is no small matter. [ntuition and a good deal of evidence show the lasting influence that good teachers have on student outcomes. 1 Students cannot afford a failed experiment with teacher integration. Furthermore, over three million adults in the United States alone have devoted their careers to the teaching profession, and society depends on continuing to recruit and retain capable talent in the future. Getting this right for teachers is important. One of the most widely read blogs ever on the Christensen Institute website is "Will Computers Replace Teachers?"2 The topic hit a nerve. E1•eryone sees that 169 online software is taking on an instructional role, and the inevitable question follows: just how far will this phenomenon go? In Chapter Two we predict that once online learning becomes good enough, schools will be able to rely on it to deliver high-quality learning adapted to each student. That will free schools to focus more on other critical jobs, but it also presents the risk that as schools delegate content and instruction to an online platform, on-site faculty will feel replaced, "check out," and neither offer much support to students nor shift their roles to focus on the development ofhigher-order thinking skills and dispositions. This is a risk, because teachers are critical to the success of blended learning. In the good blended-learning programs we have observed, although the teacher role shifts in profound ways-teachers may no longer be lesson planning and leading an entire class on the same activity-they are still engaged and working with students even more actively in a variety of ways. In the bad blended-learning programs that we have observed, the teacher feels replaced and often sits in the back of the room, disgruntled and disengaged from the students, who in turn tend not to learn nearly as much as they might with an engaged, enthusiastic teacher. The responsibility to design well for teachers is significant. It may be the single most important determinant of whether the rise of blended learning will net out as a win. In this chapter, we first consider ways to integrate the teacher role advantageously from the student perspective. Second, we think through the opportunities from the teacher perspective. How can we ensure that the design helps teachers fulfill their own jobs and priorities? DESIGNING THE TEACHER ROLE FROM THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVE Because students' circumstances and learning needs are as diverse as students themselves, there is no single definition for the ideal teacher. But two observations about the world of today's learners provide clues about how to integrate teachers into students' lives in ways that will help students learn and get their jobs done. Move Beyond Lockstep Instruction The first observation is that, as we've discussed, relying on a factory model of instruction does not fit with what it means to become career-ready in today's 170 Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools world. The classic image of a teacher at the chalkboard, overhead projector, or electronic white board delivering-or even facilitating-whole-class instruction is inappropriate as the norm. The future awaiting today's youth demands something new from schools. Factory-style classrooms that reward students for "just showing up and staying awake" no longer cut it.-1 Even the United States military, an organization long characterized by rigid, authoritarian discipline, is reconsidering its traditional top-down approach to instruction:' According to General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (America's top military officer), the United States military used to look to recruit people who were "physically fit, educated, and disciplined." In today's world, however, they mostly want someone "who can communicate, who is inquisitive, and who has an instinct to collaborate. " 5 Given the need for soldiers who can analyze intelligence data in real time, think entrepreneurially, and own the mission, the military has found that integrating military instructors as drill sergeants no longer works as well. General Dempsey said that military leaders are transitinning away from being the "sage on the stage," where in essence "you sat there and [the drill sergeant] yelled at you and you took notes and you got out of boot camp," to being "guides on the side."6 He believes a leader needs "to be more an orchestrator and inspirer than a traditional hard-charging, follow-me- up-the-hill commander."7 The shift in the military's approach points to a path forward for schools. Top-down, teacher-centered, monolithic instruction is an uninspiring choice for generating the entrepreneurial, inquisitive problem solvers that today's employers are paying top dollar to recruit.!! Even as many teachers across the United States have attempted to shed aspects of the lecture format over the last several decades, the factory-model classroom design limits the ability to move toward a rigorous, student-centered approach that both equips students with knowledge and skills and allows them to develop critical dispositions and creativity. As schools consider how to integrate teachers into their blended-learning designs, they have an exciting opportunity to think beyond a role that has time- and lecture-based elements geared for producing the factory workers of yesterday. A story from the evolution of Summit Public Schools illustrates the importance of seizing the opportunity. In the pilot year for Summit's Flex model of blended learning, some teachers at first insisted that students should always be introduced to new material through a teacher's lecture. Other staJf members were les~ ~ure. So Elevate Teaching 171 Summit ran an experiment. Teachers offered lectures to introduce new material, but, in keeping with the Flex model design, students had the option of whether to attend. At first, all the students attended the lectures because they were in the habit of doing so.