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.[1] [2]
Many laboratory schools follow a model of experiential education based on the original Laboratory School run by John Dewey at the University of Chicago.[3] 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.[4] The school's experimentation with abolishing grade levels was featured on Voice of America in 2016.[5]
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.[6]
In either case, students or student-teachers know that observation may occur, but they do not know when such observation takes place.
| Associated Institution | style=width:18em | Location | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palli Unnayan Academy Laboratory School and College | Rural Development Academy | Sherpur Upazila, Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh | ||
| Polytechnic University of the Philippines Laboratory High School | Polytechnic University of the Philippines | Manila, Philippines | A laboratory school, serving Grades 7-12 | |
| Tarlac State University – Laboratory School | Tarlac State University | Tarlac City, Philippines | Closed, 2015 | |
| TVU Laboratory School | Tra Vinh University | Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam | A multi-level public school located on Campus 4 of TVU that serves nursery, kindergarten and Grades 1–12. There are high school classes for the gifted in this school. | |
| Manila, Philippines | A laboratory school, serving Grades 7-12 | |||
| University of the Philippines Integrated School | University of the Philippines Diliman | Quezon City, Philippines | Laboratory elementary and high school for the UP Diliman College of Education. | |
| University of the Philippines Rural High School | University of the Philiippines Los Baños | Los Baños, Laguna | Laboratory high school of UP Los Baños. | |
| University of Baguio Elementary Laboratory School | University of Baguio College of Education | Baguio City, Philippines | A laboratory school, serving Kindergarten to Grade 6 | |
| Southern Luzon State University - Laboratory Schools | Southern Luzon State University - Main Campus | Lucban, Philippines | A laboratory school, serving Grades 7–12 | |
| Patumwan Demonstration School, Srinakharinwirot University | Srinakharinwirot University | Bangkok, Thailand | ||
| Prasarnmit Demonstration School, Srinakharinwirot University | Srinakharinwirot University | Bangkok, Thailand | Has separate divisions for primary and secondary education, and an international program. High school students are separated into various academic major classes of their choice. | |
| Ongkharak Demonstration School, Srinakharinwirot University | Srinakharinwirot University | Nakhon Nayok, Thailand | ||
| President Ramon Magsaysay State University, Laboratory High School | President Ramon Magsaysay State University | Iba, Zambales, Philippines |
| Associated Institution | style=width:18em | Location | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayfield West Demonstration School | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | Primary school | ||
| Mount Keira Demonstration School | Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | Primary school | ||
| University of Sydney | Waverton, New South Wales, Australia | Primary school |
| Associated Institution | style=width:18em | 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 |
| Associated Institution | style=width:18em | Location | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 UniversityFaculty 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. |
| Associated Institution | style=width:18em | Location | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center for Young Children | University of Maryland | College Park, Maryland | A laboratory preschool and kindergarten, serving ages 3–6 | |
| A & M Training School #5 | University of Arkansas at Monticello | |||
| A.E. Phillips Laboratory School | Louisiana Tech University | Ruston, Louisiana | K-8 laboratory school | |
| Arlitt Child Development Center | University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | A laboratory preschool in the School of Education | |
| Burris Laboratory School | Ball State University Teachers College | Muncie, Indiana | Public K-12 school | |
| Campus School | Smith College | Northampton, Massachusetts | A laboratory preschool | |
| Children's Campus | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, California | A Center for Early Care and Education | |
| Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School | University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | A private, co-educational K-8 laboratory school | |
| Florida A&M University Developmental Research School | Florida A&M University | Tallahassee, Florida | ||
| Florida State University | Tallahassee, Florida | Despite its common moniker, "Florida High", FSUS is sponsored by Florida State University's College of Education. | ||
| Missouri State University | Springfield, Missouri | A comprehensive K-12 laboratory school | ||
| Khan Lab School | Khan Academy | Mountain View, California | A nonprofit lab school[7] [8] [9] [10] | |
| Kilby Laboratory School | University of North Alabama | Florence, Alabama | ||
| Lab School of Washington | Washington, D.C. | School for students with learning difficulties | ||
| Louisiana State University Laboratory School | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | A college preparatory public school serving grades K-12 | |
| Macfeat Laboratory School https://www.winthrop.edu/coe/macfeat/ | Winthrop University | Rock Hill, South Carolina | ||
| Mills College Children's School | Mills College | Oakland, California | A private K-5 school that is the first laboratory school founded on the West Coast of the United States. | |
| The Milne School | University at Albany | Albany, New York | ||
| Model Laboratory School | Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond, Kentucky | Semi-private laboratory school | |
| Model Secondary School for the Deaf and Kendall Demonstration Elementary School | Gallaudet University | Washington, D.C. | Federally funded demonstration schools for deaf education, operated by and located at Gallaudet University. MSSD is a day and residential high school for grades 9 to 12. KDES is a day school for infants through grade 8 | |
| MUW Child and Parent Development Center | Mississippi University for Women | Columbus, Mississippi | A private laboratory school founded in 1929. | |
| University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, Iowa | A small public high school. (Closed 2012)[11] | ||
| P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School | University of Florida College of Education | Gainesville, Florida, | A public K-12 laboratory school | |
| Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Lab | University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas | A university laboratory preschool founded in 1927. Partners with the department of Human Development and Family Sciences at UT Austin. The PPFCFL is the oldest continuous lab school in the state of Texas and has been NAEYC accredited since 1985.[12] Serves children from the community from 18 months to kindergarten.[13] | |
| Shirley G. Moore Laboratory School (Minneapolis) | University of Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minnesota | ||
| Southern University Laboratory School | Southern University | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||
| The Henry Barnard Laboratory School | Rhode Island College | Providence, Rhode Island | A private elementary school founded in 1898, currently affiliated with the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development | |
| Sam Houston State University Charter School | Sam Houston State University | Greater Houston | A network of charter schools established in 2017.[14] | |
| The School at Columbia University | Columbia University | New York, New York | An independent K-8 co-educational school | |
| Thomas Metcalf Laboratory School (Elementary) & University High School (High School) | Illinois State University | Normal, Illinois | The first laboratory school in the United States[15] | |
| UCLA Lab School | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | ||
| University High School (San Juan) | University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras | San Juan, Puerto Rico | ||
| University Junior High School | University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas | ||
| University Laboratory High School | University of Illinois | Urbana, Illinois | ||
| University Laboratory School | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa | Honolulu, Hawai'i | A charter school serving grades K-12 | |
| University of Chicago Laboratory Schools | University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | A private, co-educational day school and the original laboratory school as founded by John Dewey | |
| University of Delaware Laboratory School | University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware | ||
| University of Houston Charter School | University of Houston | Houston, Texas | Opened in 1997,[16] and closed in 2021.[17] | |
| Eccles Early Childhood Development Lab School | Salt Lake Community College | Salt Lake City, Utah |