How to handle passive participants?

Find out what they need

• take a break

• ask for their expectations

• find out whether they are frustrated (too difficult) or bored (too easy)

• do a longer formative assessment at the end of the lesson and before the next

If they think it is too difficult

• give them more things to do actively

• go for an easy success

• do a slow live coding session

• do a step-by-step coding exercise

• focus on getting one thing done

• collect all concepts and summarize them as a table

If they think it is too easy

• use a stopwatch during exercises

• hand out programming challenges

• do a hotseat kata

• organize a coding competition in teams

• let them present their results

Add extra sensory stimulation

• play music during the breaks

• decorate the training room

• use a strong metaphor

• draw a super nice poster

• address all senses

• sweets etc

• do a small physical exercise / energizer after the break

If single participants refuse to participate

• don’t say “maybe”

• address disturbance

• talk to them one-on-one (but do not announce it)

• state your point clearly

• understand them

• avoid loaded terms (“roleplay”, “groupwork” etc.)