An earlier post discussed how to use exit slips as practice. A great way to activate students as owners of their own learning (another of Dylan Wiliam’s 5 key strategies) is to use exit slips to have students self-assess.
I was in a classroom last week where the teacher had prepared a review activity for his Math 20-1 (Pre-Calculus 11) students on radicals. He prepared 5 stations and had the students set up in groups. He chose to group them so that each group had a blend of abilities. The three groups at the front of the room completed station 1 (converting from entire radicals to mixed radicals) while the three groups at the back of the room completed station 2 (converting from mixed radicals to entire radicals). Each station contained an envelope with 6 questions of varying difficulty. After a few minutes, when students were done, the groups got up and switched stations.
Once they had done stations 1 and 2, the entire class did station 3 (adding and subtracting radicals) simultaneously. Groups that finished were instructed to get up and circulate and help those that hadn’t finished. Once the class was done station 3, they split up again. The front of the room did station 4 (multiplying radicals) while the back did station 5 (dividing radicals). Once completed, they all got up and rotated to the last station they had left. The 4’s moved to 5 and vice versa.
This is a nice, non-worksheety way to have students complete some practice before a summative assessment. It allows students to converse and help each other (feedback and activating students as instructional resources as defined by Mr. Wiliam).
The teacher greatly enhanced this activity by making students owners of their own learning with an exit slip. He prepared an exit slip for them to track their progress through the 5 stations. As they completed each station, students self-assessed as Excellent, Satisfactory, or Limited. Based on their self-assessments, they left the class knowing exactly what, if anything, they still had to work on before the summative test.
This use of exit slips is an effective way to activate students as owners of their own learning. It allows them to articulate precisely where they are still struggling. The resources used in this lesson can be accessed below. Video of the lesson in action is posted on on the AAC website.
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