Small robots dart across a white course, wobbling as they try to follow a thick black line taped to the table.
Around them, middle school students huddle over laptops, tweaking lines of Python code before eagerly sending new instructions to their robots. A small adjustment here. A different motor speed there. Success isn’t measured by a perfect grade but by whether the little machines make it to the finish line.
For Ryan Woo, that’s exactly how programming should be taught.
Woo is a computer science doctoral student in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. While his research focuses on human-computer interaction, data visualization and educational technology, this spring he helped transform those interests into something tangible by designing the programming module for Desert CodeSprouts, ASU’s annual technology workshop for middle school students.
Rather than introducing coding through traditional exercises on a screen, Woo and the team challenged students to program robots to navigate a course using sensors and simple code. The lesson introduced students to foundational programming concepts while also demonstrating how software interacts with the physical world.
“Our goal was to blend programming and robotics into a single interactive lesson,” Woo says.
Designing for discovery
The robotics activity didn’t appear overnight.
Woo spent years organizing hackathons and programming competitions with the Software Developers Association at ASU, serving as a teaching assistant, developing automatic graders for computer science courses and helping design content for robotics summer camps.
When Desert CodeSprouts expanded its programming curriculum, Woo helped adapt an existing robotics lesson originally developed for older students.
The challenge wasn’t simply shrinking the material.
Middle school students arrive with dramatically different backgrounds. Some have already experimented with programming or robotics. Others may have never written a line of code. Finding the right balance required careful planning.
Woo and the team simplified technical language, reduced unnecessary jargon and built the lesson so students could focus on the concepts that mattered most. The goal was to leave students with a handful of fundamental ideas they could build upon later.
The approach worked.
By the end of the workshop, every student had written code, and roughly two-thirds successfully programmed their robots to complete the course.
Learning to lead
Founded by Fulton Schools Assistant Professors Hasti Seifi and Adil Ahmad, the Desert CodeSprouts workshop is also intended to help graduate and undergraduate students develop as educators and mentors while inspiring younger learners to explore STEM.
“One of our goals is to create mentors at every stage,” Seifi says. “Graduate students learn to lead module creation, undergraduate students gain teaching experience, and younger students begin to see themselves as future computer scientists.”
The philosophy shaped Woo’s experience.
For him, the opportunity extended far beyond helping middle school campers complete a programming exercise. He helped mold the educational experience itself, from designing lesson content to determining how complex concepts could be presented in ways that were both engaging and accessible.
“Giving graduate and undergraduate students opportunities to help design educational materials instead of simply volunteering on the day of an event is an invaluable experience,” Woo says.
Researching how people learn
Woo’s work at Desert CodeSprouts complements his doctoral research.
Working under the supervision of a committee co-chaired by Fulton Schools Assistant Professor Chris Bryan, Woo studies educational technology, exploring how software can better support both students and teachers.
“Ryan has a genuine passion for teaching, and that naturally carries over into his research,” Bryan says. “He’s asking how technology can help educators personalize learning and make complex technical concepts more approachable for students.”
Desert CodeSprouts gave Woo an opportunity to collect research data, helping him better understand how middle school students engage with computer science activities and how educational experiences can be improved.
Although Woo now helps design learning experiences for younger students, he never had opportunities like Desert CodeSprouts growing up.
“I would have really liked to have this chance when I was a K-12 student,” he says.
That’s one reason he hopes programs like Desert CodeSprouts continue to expand. Each workshop introduces students to programming, robotics and computer science in an environment where experimentation is encouraged, and mistakes become opportunities to learn. At the same time, graduate students like Woo gain experience as researchers, curriculum designers and mentors.
For the campers, it’s an introduction to computing. For Woo, it’s another step toward a career dedicated to helping others learn.
