University professors may observe laboratory school classrooms to assess the student-teacher. This is typically done without the direct awareness of the students or student-teachers, in order 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 without being seen by the students or the student-teacher. In contrast, a modern laboratory school is able to use a standard school room layout. The 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 and student-teachers know that observation may occur, but they do not know when such observation takes place. ==Examples==