A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or secondary school 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 of experiential education based on the original Laboratory School run by John Dewey at the University of Chicago. 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 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 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 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
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2013) |
Asia
Australia
School | Associated Institution | Location | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Mayfield West Demonstration School | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | Primary school | |
Mount Keira Demonstration School | Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | Primary school | |
North Sydney Demonstration School | University of Sydney | Waverton, New South Wales, Australia | Primary school |
Canada
School | Associated Institution | Location | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Institute of Child Study | University of Toronto | Toronto, Canada | An independent nursery to Grade 6 day school |
University of Toronto Schools | University of Toronto | Toronto, Canada | An independent co-educational day school |
Europe
School | Associated Institution | Location | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Jordanhill School | Glasgow, Scotland | An independent state co-educational day school | |
Lab School Paris | Paris, France | First laboratory school in France, opened in 2017, for students aged 8–12, bilingual (French-English), associated to the Lab School Network. | |
Laborschule Bielefeld | Bielefeld, Germany | ||
Tampere University Teacher Training School | Tampere University
Faculty of Education and Culture |
Finland | The Teacher Training School trains future teachers in a very structured way. Administratively, the school is part of the Tampere University Faculty of Education and Culture. In all other respects, the school enjoys great independence. |
United States
See also
References
- "nals.net". www.nals.net.
- "Lab Schools - PrivateSchoolReview.com". PrivateSchoolReview.com.
- "John Dewey's Laboratory School in Chicago". mi-knoll.de.
- "What is a lab school?". Khan Lab School.
- "Experimental Silicon Valley School Abolishes Grade Levels". Voice of America.
- Oelkers, Jürgen (2009). John Dewey und die Pädagogik (1. Aufl ed.). Weinheim Basel: Beltz. ISBN 978-3-407-85886-3.
- "'A Bit Of A Montessori 2.0': Khan Academy Opens A Lab School". NPR. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
- "Khan Lab School reinvents American classroom". CBS News.
- "How Sal Khan Hopes to Remake Education". 30 March 2016.
- Tanz, Jason. "The Tech Elite's Quest to Reinvent School in Its Own Image".
- "Price Laboratory School | Rod Library". library.uni.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
- "About Us". labschool.he.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- "Children & Families". labschool.he.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- Santana, Tamra (2017-06-01). "Sam Houston State opens elementary charter schools in Spring, Klein". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
- "History | Thomas Metcalf School - Illinois State". metcalf.illinoisstate.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
- "Frequently Asked Questions" (Archive). University of Houston Charter School. Retrieved on November 27, 2008.
- UHCS IS CLOSED. University of Houston. Retrieved 2021-09-03.