Inside the Mindset of a Middle Schooler

Research helps integrated design teams develop campuses to support the unique needs of learners at a crucial stage in their development.

As parents and teachers know, middle schoolers are in the midst of a critical, tumultuous period of their lives. For the first time, they are leaving the structure of an elementary school and continuing their journey as a lifelong learner.

By design, middle schools need to be finely tuned to support the mindset of students at this key stage in their development, as they get their first taste of independence and exploration.

“A sense of belonging is important at any stage of human development, but opportunities for building supportive friendships are key for thriving in early adolescence,” says LPA Research Manager Kimari Phillips.

On several recent projects, LPA’s Sustainability and Applied Research team worked with designers and educators to develop unique middle schools, specifically designed to foster the growth of students in this 12- to 14-year-old range. Each school focused on evidence-based design strategies to create environments that reflect the community, site and the specific social, emotional and learning requirements of middle schoolers.

“The research provides us with a guide,” says LPA Director of K-12 Kate Mraw. “These students are in an important transitional phase, and this is our opportunity to set them on a course of lifelong learning.”

Hanging Out

In elementary school, students thrive with unstructured play, physical activity and anything that engages their growing motor skills, according to research. They need active engagement and big groups. But when they enter middle school, they are looking for group acceptance, group identity and support for self-expression. For the first time, they need smaller groups and individual spaces as they start to discover their sense of responsibility and agency.

In California, Santa Clara USD’s Huerta Middle School, which opened in 2021, shares a 55-acre site with an elementary school and high school, but it is a much different campus than its neighbors. Maker spaces and co-labs are scaled to the age group, recognizing that middle schoolers are just starting to explore different ways of learning. To help students with the increased academic demands at this stage, there are areas for relaxation, contemplation and self-regulation; spaces throughout the campus promote social connections and invite group activities.

“Middle school is where students start to find their core group of friends, where everybody starts to hang out together,” says LPA Landscape Architect Rita Frink. “Providing a variety of gathering spaces is essential.”

The landscape team labeled the middle school the “woodlands,” in contrast to the “grassland” elementary school and the “forest” high school. The middle school’s spaces offer new complexities and exploration, full of light and opportunities, yet less complex than the high school setting.

Research also highlights the need to provide areas to support different levels of play, ranging from pickup basketball games to grassy spaces for Frisbee. Middle school students, especially sixth graders, still need physical active play, not just courtyards and soft spaces.

“They’re just starting to learn, grow and stretch, and to learn to be more independent as they get into middle school,” Frink says.

For Britton Middle School’s new Student Union Building, under construction in Morgan Hill, California, research into the developmental stage of a middle schooler and their need for belonging and group identity played foundational roles in the design process. On the street-front campus, a two-story café space creates an active visual connection with the community. The second-floor media center is a cozy environment, with furniture and spaces sized for small-group activities.

“The media center has private areas where teachers can take a classroom and teach with seating configured for smaller groups,” says LPA Project Designer Kevin Leslie. “It’s a much smaller scale than a space in a high school.” It’s designed to give students a sense of their own space, while still maintaining supervision. “There are always visual lines of sight with all the students in the media center,” Leslie says.

Britton’s Student Union, which is scheduled to open in May 2024, is designed to create an active indoor-outdoor life for students. Throughout the new building and surrounding landscape, outdoor learning areas, biophilic elements and exposure to natural light and fresh air will support the middle schoolers’ mind, body and community.

A Research-Based Approach

An open, evidence-based approach can find different ways for a middle school campus to reflect its community, at a time when students are just starting to find their own voice. In San Diego, the recently completed three-story expansion of Horace Mann Middle School reflects one of the city’s most diverse communities. More than 45 countries and 35 languages are represented by the students; many have only recently entered this country. Diversity and cultivating a sense of belonging became primary themes as the design developed around the concept “The Place to Become.” A large map showing the many origin countries of the students is embedded in a metal perforated screen that covers the community-facing façade.

“It was all about the feeling of belonging to this place,” Project Designer Kevin Leslie says. “We were creating this environment of celebrating all the diversity and making the students feel comfortable.”

Learning environments in the Mann expansion were designed to inspire student interaction, collaboration and project-based learning. Each classroom connects to a “spark” space, which might range from a reading nook to zones for small group learning. Outdoor spaces were programmed for a range of activities, a first for the older campus, including a grand stair and a shaded lunch shelter.

“Teachers can be very flexible in their learning environment, with operable panels in between rooms and a variety of programmed outdoor environments,” says LPA San Diego Managing Director Eric Jones. “They can conjoin different classrooms or use outdoor spaces for break-out activities.”

Group identity and strong relationships with peers are just starting to move to the forefront as students enter middle school. Even within the age range, there are vast differences in maturity levels and social skills.

For General Marshall Middle School in Austin, Texas, the Campus Advisory Team wanted to create a “school within a school” for the sixth graders, with their own access and circulation. Older students are on the upper floors, providing the sixth graders a secure zone on the ground floor.

“Sixth graders are finding themselves during this time period, and it’s a big shift for them to go from an elementary school where they’re side by side with kindergartners,” says LPA Design Director Federico Cavazos. “You have to navigate that transition very carefully.”

The guiding principles for the General Marshall design process focused on the whole student, teaching sustainability, progressive career technical education (CTE) training and indoor and outdoor maker spaces. On each level of the campus there are different types of co-labs and collaborative zones, with the top level devoted to a “super floor” of experimentation, with CTE and creative spaces.

“Throughout the campus, there is a mix of social and creative spaces,” Cavazos says. “We wanted to provide the types of spaces where they can express their individual personality, and experiment and discover new things.”

Linking Research and Design

Designing to support the mindset of a middle schooler can take many specific forms, supported by research into the psychology of students in the age range. For example, in a group setting, a variety of seating options can support diverse physical abilities and empower learners with choice. Outdoor settings can provide opportunities for hands-on learning and encourage exploration, as they start taking more agency. Easily available writing surfaces and technology can spark self-expression. Spaces designed for social connections and teamwork will help students develop their first understanding of belonging to a group and relating with peers.

“More than four decades of research confirms that school buildings are foundational to students’ academic success, health and well-being,” Phillips says. “When designing learning environments, it’s essential to create spaces that support cognitive, social and emotional development appropriate to their age group.”

Design strategies can link with the research to create spaces that reflect the unique psychology and development levels of middle schoolers. A campus with a targeted mix of spaces promoting connection, innovation and collaboration can support an important milestone as they develop the curiosity and social skills that will guide them into the future.