What Are Laboratory Schools?
A laboratory school is a type of experiential school that is based on the John Dewey educational system. Laboratory schools are unlike conventional schools, since they focus mostly on teacher, student, and environmental interaction rather than traditional lectures. While Dewey did not coin the term “experiential schooling,” he is the reason why laboratory schools exist today. Dewey believed that education should be ranked according to experience. Following this philosophy, if a student does not gain a wealth of knowledge from an educational experience, then such an education is relatively useless. Active schools that execute the Dewey educational philosophy include Outward Bound and Foxfire. There are various types of laboratory schools in existence, though they all follow the aforementioned educational model.
