What are Exit Tickets?

As the bell rings and the class ends, teachers often wonder: How can I ensure today’s lessons truly resonate with my students? The answer lies in a simple yet transformative tool: Exit Tickets.

Exit tickets are brief, informal assessments given at the end of a class to gauge student learning. They usually involve a question or prompt that students respond to on a small slip of paper or digitally right after the class. This quick method allows students to provide immediate feedback, offering teachers valuable insights into their understanding and the effectiveness of the lesson.

Why use Exit Tickets?

· Exit tickets provide immediate feedback on student comprehension, allowing teachers to see what has been understood and what needs more work. For example, in a math class, teacher may ask, “What is one thing you found challenging about solving equations today?”

· Reviewing them helps tailor future lessons to address any knowledge gaps. If teachers notice many students struggled with a particular concept, they can re-teach it in the next class.

· They prompt students to reflect on their learning, reinforcing what they have learned. A question like “Write one sentence using the new vocabulary word you learned today” can help solidify new knowledge.

· They give every student a voice — even those who may be shy to speak up during class discussions.

How to use Exit Tickets effectively?

· Be Consistent in using exit tickets to build a habit of reflection and feedback.

· Craft thought-provoking questions. Instead of simple recall, ask questions that encourage deeper thinking and application. For example, in science, “Explain how photosynthesis and respiration are connected.”

· Keep students engaged by varying the types of questions. Use open-ended questions, multiple-choice, true/false, or even small drawings or diagrams. For a geography lesson, teachers may ask students to sketch a quick map of a region discussed in class.

· Review the tickets promptly and provide feedback, either collectively to the class or individually. This shows students that their response matters and guides further planning and teaching.

Exit tickets are a key component of formative assessment — a continuous process of evaluating student learning to provide ongoing feedback. Unlike summative assessments, which evaluate student learning at the end of a teaching period, formative assessments like exit tickets provide real-time insights that can immediately impact instruction and student learning outcomes.

While digital tools like Seesaw, Poll Everywhere, Google Forms, etc. offer unique ways to assess and gather data, they are not always necessary. Here are some effective no-tech exit ticket ideas:

· Hands-Up Poll: Simply ask a question and have students raise their hands to respond.

· Human Opinion Meter: Place opposing answers at opposite corners of the room and have students stand where their opinion lies.

· Class Sketch note: Ask students to draw or doodle something they remember from the lesson on the board.

· Sticky Note Mosaic: Use different coloured sticky notes for different types of responses and have students place them on the board.

In the digital era, leveraging technology like generative AI can revolutionize the use of exit tickets to enhance learning. Generative AI chatbots can tailor exit tickets based on the teacher’s intended outcome — whether for formative assessment, stimulating student self-analysis, focusing on teaching strategies, or promoting open communication with the teacher. AI can suggest ways to make exit tickets more interesting and exciting, making them an even more effective tool for assessing and reinforcing student learning.

Example prompt for generating exit ticket ideas

As an expert teacher and lesson planner, adept at designing engaging, hands-on activities that reinforce student learning, your task is to create [NUMBER] ‘exit ticket’ ideas for [GRADE AND SUBJECT] class. These exit tickets will be used at the end of a lesson on [TOPIC], specifically covering [SPECIFIC CONTENT]. The activities or questions should be brief and help to assess students’ understanding of the topic discussed in the lesson.

Incorporating exit tickets into teaching routine can transform the way teachers understand and respond to student learning. Whether its teaching math, science, English, or social science, exit tickets can enhance teaching learning, foster engagement, and ensure that no student is left behind with knowledge gaps…

Give them a try and see the difference they can make in your classroom!

Gayethri Mote is a Teacher Educator and an expert on Learning Skills at Coschool. To learn more, visit www.coschool.ai