Exit Ticket

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Collect individual responses at the close of a session to assess understanding and surface unanswered questions.

Use it when: Use at the end of a lesson, workshop module, or training session to check what participants retained before they disperse.

Skip it when: Skip when the facilitator has no opportunity to review responses before the next session or when an open group discussion is needed instead of independent reflection.

Group arrangement: individual work

Timing: UWT suggested 7-minute run plan within the source's 5 to 15 minute band.

Materials and tools

• One index card or small slip of paper per participant
• One pen or pencil per participant
• A collection basket or box placed near the room exit
• A visible whiteboard or presentation slide showing the prompt

Before participants arrive

1. Write the prompt or question clearly on the main display board.
2. Place index cards and pens at each desk or at a pickup station near the entrance.
3. Position the collection basket on a table near the room exit.

Say this to open

Before we wrap up today, please take a slip of paper. Read the question on the screen and write your response individually. Drop your slip into the collection box by the door as you leave.

How to run it

1. Introduce prompt and hand out materials 1 minutes

   Display the exit prompt on the screen. Distribute paper slips and pens to anyone who needs them. Speak the opening script so everyone knows the task and where to deposit slips.

2. Write individual answers 3 minutes

   Participants work independently and silently. For example, if the prompt is 'State the single most critical step in yesterday\'s safety procedure,' participants write one or two sentences answering that specific point. Names are optional unless stated otherwise.

3. Collect tickets at dismissal 2 minutes

   Signal that writing time is complete. Participants walk to the exit and place their slips into the collection basket or hand them directly to the facilitator at the door. People who prefer not to disclose may deposit a blank slip.

4. Sort responses into review categories 1 minutes

   Immediately after participants depart, the facilitator sorts the collected slips into three distinct stacks: solid grasp, partial understanding or misconception, and unanswered questions. This quick sort provides the baseline for the next session.

Debrief questions

• Facilitator planning question: Which core concepts showed consistent understanding across the collected slips?
• Facilitator planning question: What common confusion or unanswered question requires a targeted review at the start of our next session?

Finished output: A set of completed individual response slips sorted into three review piles.

Remote

Post the prompt in a digital form, survey tool, or private chat message. Give participants 3 minutes to submit their written entry before logging off.

Hybrid

In-person participants write on physical slips and drop them in the collection box. Remote attendees submit via a parallel digital form or private chat within the same 3-minute window. The facilitator combines the counts during sorting.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may share their response verbally with the facilitator at the door instead of writing.
• Participants may deposit an empty slip or write 'pass' to exit without sharing personal thoughts.

If the session gets stuck

Participants write broad feedback such as 'great session' instead of answering the factual prompt.

Remind participants to answer the specific prompt shown on the board rather than providing general session evaluation.

A queue forms at the doorway as people try to drop slips simultaneously.

Set the collection box on a side table two steps back from the door frame so traffic can exit smoothly.

Terms used here

• Exit Ticket: A brief formative assessment completed individually at the end of a session to gauge comprehension before departure.