Exit Ticket Questions for the Data-Driven Educator
One of the best habits I’ve gotten into is assigning regular exit ticket surveys in my writing and literature courses. In this post, I guide you through the process of making our data collection transparent to students, and I provide a list of adaptable questions that you can use to assess your students’ understanding of the content and gather their thoughts on the course in progress.
If you want to become a data-driven and responsive educator, this post is for you!
Making the Purpose Legible to Students
Each time I assign an exit ticket at the end of class, I format it as a graded survey in Canvas. They earn points for completion, not for the “correctness” of their answers. Before students answer the questions, they can read the directions and understand the purpose of completing the exit ticket. If students don’t know how this data is being used or why it is being collected, these surveys can feel like busy work. Show, rather than tell, students exactly what it means to be a data-driven educator who tailors the learning environment to meet the unique needs of the group of students in front of you. I copy and paste this overview for every exit ticket I assign:
DIRECTIONS | Please answer the following quick questions at the end of the class period. Please do not fill out the exit ticket until the end of the class session.
PURPOSE | Frequently, we will complete exit tickets at the end of class. Exit tickets will earn you engagement points! More importantly, exit tickets allow me to better support your learning and development by:
Evaluating your grasp of course material
Gathering informal feedback on teaching
Pinpointing content areas that may require further instructional support
CRITERIA | This exit ticket will be graded pass/fail.
Looking for Survey Questions?
Here is a list of general questions that can easily be adapted to suit your unique course context:
How well do you feel you understood today’s class material?
(1 = Not at all, 5 = Very well)What concept from today’s lesson do you feel most confident about?
(Open response)Was there a concept today that was particularly confusing or difficult to understand?
(Open response)How helpful were today’s activities in reinforcing your understanding of the class material?
(1 = Not helpful, 5 = Very helpful)Which activity from today’s class did you find most beneficial for your learning?
(Open response)Do you feel that today’s class session met your learning needs?
(1 = Not at all, 5 = Completely)How confident are you in applying what you learned today to future class discussions or assignments?
(1 = Not confident, 5 = Very confident)Was the pace of today’s class too fast, too slow, or just right?
(1 = Too fast, 2 = Too slow, 3 = Just right)How could today’s activities be improved to help you learn more effectively?
(Open response)Did you have enough opportunities to actively engage with the material today?
(1 = No, 5 = Yes)What, if anything, would you like to review or revisit in future classes based on today’s lesson?
(Open response)
Above are some examples of the exit tickets I use throughout the semester in my intensive writing Introduction to Poetry course. You’ll notice that if students respond that they are not confident in a concept, they have to acknowledge that they need to consult their notes and other resources.
I’ve Collected Some Data! Now What?
Why bother collecting data if you’re not going to do anything with it? This data gives you a clear sense of what concepts need reviewing or what assignment prompts may need advising. Take action at the start of the next class, or post an announcement on your LMS summarizing the results and clarifying or expanding on any necessary content or instructions.
After I have introduced a new concept, method, or framework, such as rhetorical analysis in my digital composition course, I often show my students the exit ticket data at the start of the next session. I then turn the process of recall back on the students: tell me, for example, how we define “rhetorical situation.” Exit ticket data and recall-based warm-ups can go hand in hand.
As always, thanks for reading. If you have questions about any of my content or have ideas for collaboration, please contact me at gabrielle@gabriellestecher.com.
