A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

operated in association with a university, college, or other teacher education institution and used for the training of future teachers, educational experimentation, educational research, and professional development. Many laboratory schools follow a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

of experiential education based on the original Laboratory School run by

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Many laboratory schools still operate in the United States and around the globe. They are known by many names: laboratory schools, demonstration schools, campus schools, model schools, university-affiliated schools, child development schools, etc., and most have a connection to a college or university. Each university-affiliated school has a unique relationship with a college or university and a different grade configuration. Some lab schools are only for preschool or kindergarten children, some are preschool through fifth or sixth grade, and some continue through high school. Khan Lab School in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

is one of the few laboratory schools not affiliated with a college or university. It is affiliated with Khan Academy, a non-profit educational organization. The school's experimentation with abolishing grade levels was featured on

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

in 2016.

Classroom observation

Laboratory school classrooms may be observed by university professors to assess the student-teacher, but this is conducted without the students or student-teachers aware of the observation. The observers want to avoid creating a distraction or disrupting classroom activities. Before the miniaturization of electronic camera viewing systems, laboratory schools often included elaborate direct-view observation systems with special observation decks above classrooms or observation rooms alongside the classrooms. One-way mirrors and speaker/intercom systems allowed a professor to silently observe the classroom, but without being seen by the students or the student-teacher. A modern laboratory school is able to use a standard-design school as a laboratory school. The standard rooms are outfitted with

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

cameras hidden inside black plastic domes on the ceiling. Complex lens optics and multiple cameras allow a single stationary dome to view 360 degrees, with no mechanical noises or moving parts. High-speed Internet connections allow for a professor at a college to remotely view and interact with student-teachers in a distant laboratory school. In either case, students or student-teachers know that observation may occur, but they do not know when such observation takes place.

Examples

Asia

Australia

Canada

Europe

United States

References

External links

International Association of Laboratory Schools
{{Authority control Progressive education Types of vocational school