My grade 11 class (Mathematics SL year 1) are getting ready for an exam in a week and a half. I was reading this week’s #eduread article about exit slips while they were doing a quiz. I got to the end of the article a few minutes before they finished and I was pondering the last two sentences of the article:
Exit slips are easy to use and take little time away from instruction. Many teachers use them routinely—even daily—and attest to their positive influence on student achievement.
It’s been a while since I used exit slips so I thought, well, there is no time like the present! And I wrote these three questions on the board to use immediately with my grade 11s.
I passed out some small pieces of scrap paper, and voila!, exit slips.
The article mentions four main uses for exit slips. First, to get formative assessment data. My first two questions are of this type. Students give feedback on what they have learned. I now know that my students feel somewhat prepared; the median and modal level was 3. I need to plan more review about trigonometric functions and applications of differentiation.
Secondly, exit slips can be used to have students reflect on their learning strategies or effort. An example question would be “How hard did you work today?” I am planning to use this question soon–it could be illuminating.
Thirdly, the slips can be used to get feedback about my teaching. In the past I have often asked how my pace was during that lesson. My third question today is also of this type. Some students asked for more exam-style questions, several others want me to do tricky stuff on the board.
Last, exit slips can be a place for open communication with the teacher. In the past, I have frequently asked, “What is your foremost question or concern?” This prompt allows students to say whatever it is they want to about mathematics, our class, or anything else. The responses have ranged from useful to hilarious.
This post is for a group of mathematics teachers who read an article and chat about it each week using the hashtag #eduread. You are welcome to join in; our chat about exit slips is on Wednesday night at 8pm in North America/Thursday morning at 9am in Singapore (and the time where you are).
What questions would you ask on exit slips?