Changing the culture of the online university classroom from one of passivity to active engagement requires purposeful planning by the university professor (Kuh, 2005). Related to the so-called “minute paper,” exit slips offer easy, quick, and informative assessments that help encourage student connections to content, self-reflection, and a purpose for future learning (Marzano, 2012; Owen & Sarles, 2012). In an age of accountability, it also informs the professor of misconceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of content learned during the class period (Soto & Anand, 2009).
Exit tickets have been used in different contexts and content areas as a formative assessment for learning (Parsons, Parsons, & Dodman, 2012; Robb, 2003; Sosa, 2013). Exit tickets are an easy way to assess student learning and can provide evidence of mastered content or misunderstandings as well as help students to self-reflect on their understanding of content. Exit tickets can be used for student self-evaluation or as a means for the student to clarify learning. It allows for teachers to understand what the student is thinking and informs them of misconceptions and needed areas to instruct (Brookhart, 2013).
One less traditional example of an exit ticket is the quick write/quick draw. A quick write/quick draw is a brief, timed writing activity that encourages students to create visual representations of their thinking alongside their written comments (Dodge, 2006 and 2009). The quick write/quick draw allows students to make sense of what they have been learning and studying. Quick write/quick draw can be done online as a reflection. The form for the quick write/quick draw can be scanned and uploaded into the “Assignments” or “Discussions” area of a learning management system. (See a printable pdf blank template for student completion provided with permission from copyright owner Judith Dodge.) The quick write/quick draw can also be uploaded by an image if the students take a picture of their reflection. This strategy can be used within the face-to-face class meetings of blended (hybrid) courses or within completely online courses. For instance, students can reflect on the learning that took place during the module. This can serve as a quick way of assessing student understanding. However, this could also be used as a pre-writing activity. The instructor can pose a prompt and have the students respond to see what they already know about the topic of the upcoming module.
Link to example artifact(s)
The following quick write/quick draw example is used in Dr. Angela Danley’s (University of Central Missouri) K-12 teacher preparation courses to assess her students’ understanding of the different instructional strategies elementary classroom teachers can use with students.
A printable (pdf) of the following blank template is provided with permission from quick write/quick draw author/copyright owner Judith Dodge.
Link to scholarly reference(s)
Brookhart, S. M. (2013). Develop a student-centered mind-set for formative assessment. Voices from the Middle, 21(2), 21-25. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/1464751036?accountid=6143
Dodge, J. (2006). Differentiation in action. New York, NY: Scholastic Teaching Resources.
Dodge, J. (2009). Quick formative assessments for a differentiated classroom. Scholastic Teaching Resources. New York, New York.
Kuh, G. D. (2005). Putting student engagement results to use: Lessons from the field. Assessment Update, 17 (1), 12-13.
Marzano, R. (2012). Art & science of teaching: The many uses of exit tickets. Educational Leadership, 70 (2), 80-81.
Owen, D., & Sarles, P. (2012). EXIT tickets: The reflective ticket to understanding. Library Media Connection, 31(3), 20-22.
Parsons, A., Parsons, S., & Dodman, S. (2012). Lessons learned from a longitudinal literacy professional development initiative. Making Literacy Connections, 27, 6-11.
Sosa, T. (2013). Using digital exit tickets for formative assessment in a technology integration class. In R. McBride & M. Searson (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2013 (pp. 2444-2452). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Soto, J., & Anand, S. (2009). Factors influencing academic performance of students enrolled in a lower division Cell Biology core course. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 9(1), 64-80.
Citation
Danley, A. (2015). Require online exit tickets for active engagement. In B. Chen & K. Thompson (Eds.), Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository. Orlando, FL: University of Central Florida Center for Distributed Learning. https://topr.online.ucf.edu/require-online-exit-tickets-for-active-engagement/.