Mallets, Motors, and Middle Schoolers: Building Robots from the Ground Up

At Andrew Lewis Middle School, every sixth grader rotates through six electives as part of an “exploratory” experience. One of those rotations is Ms. Brown’s Introduction to Technology course — a class where students explore 13 different areas of technology, from bridge engineering to forensic science to computer graphics.
Last week, the classroom buzzed with a different kind of energy.

Instead of sitting behind screens, students worked in pairs with mallets, pliers, and screwdrivers in hand. Their task: assemble their own Roversa robot from the ground up.
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Before a single line of block-based code is written, students experience something just as important — real-world manufacturing.

Learning Through Doing

As the robots began to take shape, so did the learning.

Some teams accidentally installed the directional buttons backwards. Others discovered their motors wouldn’t run because the lead wires weren’t grounded correctly. Each mistake became an opportunity to test, troubleshoot, and try again.

They didn’t wait for the “right answer.” They tested as they built. They persevered.
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And within a single class period, every pair successfully completed their robot. And one pair even started a second!

Collaboration at the Core

What stood out most wasn’t just the technical progress — it was the partnership.
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Students negotiated roles. They passed tools back and forth. When one partner struggled, the other leaned in to help. There was laughter, encouragement, and the occasional celebratory whoop when the robot did as it was programmed.

​The room was fully engaged the whole class period. This wasn’t just a build — it was a shared accomplishment.

​Why Build First?

Before students move into block-based coding and hands-on programming challenges, they now understand their robot from the inside out. They’ve handled the components. They’ve tightened the wheels. They’ve seen firsthand how small adjustments affect performance.

That foundation changes the coding experience. Instead of abstract commands on a screen, students are programming something they built themselves. This physical learning is so important for all learners and especially for middle school.

And perhaps most importantly, they leave the classroom with a powerful realization:
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Everyone can be a builder.

Integrating the Learning

Roversa is co-designing lessons with middle school teachers to integrate computer science - and these student built robots - into their language arts, US history, science and math lessons this spring. This work was made possible by an Advancing Computer Science Education grant from the Virginia Department of Education. ​