feedback forms · print-and-go
Exit Ticket.folder
Ninety seconds at the door that tell you what actually landed — one thing learned, one question still open, one next move. The smallest honest check for understanding there is.
// exit slips with prompt cards, backs and blanks · 3 min · print & run · tool pack · no projector, no account
An exit ticket only gets filled at the door if it takes under two minutes. Three lines beat a page of ratings because people write them while the session is still warm — what stuck, what is still confusing, and what they will actually do.
Print a batch of slips, hand one out as the session wraps, collect at the door, and read the pile before you leave. The question card becomes your opener for next time; the reading guide tells you what to sort for.
the run sheet
// this is the guide file, word for word — read it here, run from it here. the .md at the bottom of the page is the same text, offline.
Folder: `exit-ticket` · Category: feedback forms · any group · 3 min · offline + online · print props · tool pack License: CC BY 4.0
An exit ticket is the ninety seconds at the door that tells you what actually landed — not what the room clapped for. Three prompts on one small slip, filled in as people gather their coats, read in the time it takes them to leave. It is the smallest honest check-for-understanding there is.
Objectives
By the end of the activity, participants will have:
- Written, while the session is still warm, one thing that actually landed, one question still open, and one next move they can name.
- Handed you their live confusions verbatim — the question stack becomes the opener of the next session.
- Been through a check so small it stays honest: three lines, under ninety seconds, anonymous.
When to use this activity
- A session ends and the next one builds on what landed here — you need the read before you plan, not a survey next week.
- You teach a series (class, cohort, team ritual) and want a pulse that costs three minutes a session.
- The room is standing up to leave and you have one minute of attention, no more — this is built for exactly that window.
Why three prompts, not ten
An exit ticket only gets filled at the door if it takes under two minutes. Three lines — one thing learned, one question still open, one next action — give you more real signal than a page of ratings, because people write them while the session is still warm.
Setup
Space: the exit path — slips go out as the session wraps and come back where people pass on the way out.
Materials per person: one blank poker card as the slip (`exit-ticket-prop-cards.pdf` blanks take three lines, same trim and safe margin as the printed faces) and a pen; the three prompt cards stand face-up so the questions never need re-explaining.
Materials for the room: a box, tray or chair at the door for collection; online, the same three prompts as one-line fields in a closing form.
Grouping: any size — one slip per person; in large rooms hand the deck out before the wrap-up so coats and slips get picked up together.
Roles: everyone writes three lines; you say "I read these before I leave", keep the pace moving at the door, and open the next session from the question stack.
How to run it
| Time | Phase | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 | Hand out | As the session wraps, give one slip per person. Say: three lines, I read them before I leave. |
| 1–2 | Fill | People write while packing up. Keep it moving — a slip handed in blank is a missed signal, not a rule break. |
| 2–3 | Collect | Collect at the door — a box, a chair, a photo of the pile. Read the questions; they are tomorrow's opening. |
The card
Use the faces from `exit-ticket-prop-cards.pdf`: a master card, the three prompt cards — learned, open question, next move — a watch-out card, branded backs, and blanks that become the slips themselves. Keep the three prompt faces visible while people write; the blank card carries the same trim and safe zone as the printed ones.
Failure modes
- Collecting and not using. If the slips vanish into a drawer, people stop writing anything real. Open the next session with the questions you gathered.
- Making it a graded task. An exit ticket is not homework. The moment it counts for a mark, it becomes performance.
- Too many lines. Add a fourth, fifth, sixth prompt and the completion rate collapses. Three is the ceiling at the door.
Variations
- Pair check: each person says their next move to a neighbor before handing in — sixty seconds more, and the commitment gets real.
- Online: the three prompts as a closing form (the folder's FormLM block); keep every field one line.
- Weekly digest: in a multi-day program, one box for all slips and a Friday sort of the question column into next week's openers.
- Midpoint ticket: hand out once at the break too — the difference between the two piles is your live read on the second half.
Facilitation notes
- Read the question stack before you plan the next session; it is the agenda, not material.
- Open by answering one question from the pile out loud — it teaches the room that the ticket is real.
- Keep it anonymous. A slip with a name on it stops being honest.
Put it on the wall
Print `exit-ticket-activity-poster.pdf` (A3) to put the run of show, the three prompts and the watch-outs on one wall by the door while you facilitate.
Props in this folder
- `exit-ticket-prop-cards.pdf` — poker-spec print sheet (63.5 × 88.9 mm, bleed and cut guides): master card, three prompt cards, a watch-out card, branded backs and blank slips
- `exit-ticket-run-sheet.pdf` — the print edition: this run sheet + the debrief, bound as one A4 document with bookmarks (`-Letter.pdf` is US Letter)
- `exit-ticket-activity-poster.pdf` — the whole ticket on one A3 wall sheet
- `exit-ticket-guide.md` · `-debrief.md` · `-start-here.md` — the facilitator guide, the reading guide, the one-page start here
- `exit-ticket-license.md` — what you may do
- `SKILL.md` · `exit-ticket.zip` — the machine-readable manifest, and the whole folder in one download
Agent version
Every file in this folder has a stable public URL — an AI agent can fetch the prompt deck, the reading guide and this run sheet with three curl commands (see `SKILL.md`). The paper version needs a box by the door and a pen. Keep it anonymous; an exit ticket with a name on it stops being honest.
the debrief sheet
// the debrief questions, in full — the .md version prints on one page for the room.
Ninety seconds of paper, read fast, used immediately. Here is how. Use with `exit-ticket-guide.md`. Collecting at the door and "read the questions" is the compressed version; this sheet is the full one.
How to run this debrief
- Sort the questions first; they are the most actionable paper you will collect all week.
- Count repeats, do not average — three people asking the same question is a gap, one person asking twice is one person.
- Open the next session by answering one question from the pile out loud. It teaches the room that the ticket is real.
Read the three lines
- One thing you learned — the landed list. If the same idea keeps showing up, that is what taught. If they scatter, you covered too much.
- One question you still have — the live confusions. This stack is your opening for the next session, verbatim.
- One thing you will do next — the transfer signal. Specific and doable is a plan; vague is a wish — follow it up next time.
The three debrief questions
- Which question came back most often — can you answer it at the top of the next session?
- Do the learned lines cluster around what you meant to teach, or scatter? If they scatter, what are you cutting next time — not adding?
- How many of the next moves are specific and doable? The vague ones point at a barrier you have not removed yet.
Failure modes of the debrief
| Failure mode | Why it happens | The rescue |
|---|---|---|
| Slips into a drawer | Collected, never used | Open the next session with the questions from the pile |
| Read as a grade | The slip gets treated as scored homework | Keep it anonymous and unscored — the moment it counts, it becomes performance |
| A fourth prompt appears | Anxiety to know more | Three lines is the door's ceiling; completion collapses past it |
What this is not
It is a ninety-second pulse check, not an assessment and not a graded task. It shows you what to fix tomorrow; it is not a score of anyone today.
who it's for · what it leaves behind
What is an exit ticket?
A small slip filled in during the last ninety seconds of a session — one thing learned, one open question, one next move. It is the fastest check for understanding that costs almost no class time.
How is this different from a feedback form?
A feedback form rates the course; an exit ticket checks the learning. Three lines, filled while the room is warm, aimed at what you fix next session — not a satisfaction score for the one just finished.
Do I really only need three lines?
Yes — three is the ceiling at the door. A fourth prompt starts the completion rate falling, and a half-filled pile cannot be read. Learned, question, next move covers stuck, open, and transfer.
Can my AI agent use this folder?
Yes. The folder ships a SKILL.md with runnable prep — pull the slip deck and the reading guide, or lift the three prompts into a closing online form. Plain text, CC BY 4.0.
make it live
The paper slip at the door is the default — anonymous, 90 seconds, no devices to hunt. If you want the online version — same three prompts, responses landing in your own workspace, handy for remote sessions or for people who leave early — two ways:
for AI agents
$ formlm-cli smart generate --input "Workshop exit ticket: three prompts - one thing learned, one question still open, one thing they will do next; anonymous, 90 seconds, collected at the door. Paper or online."
Step 4 of the agent workflow: npm install -g @formlm/cli, log in once, and the prep above runs itself. The form and its data live in your own workspace.
— or, with a mouse —
Open the template on FormLM and paste the items from the guide — the template already collects responses anonymously.
// optional, not required — the paper version in this folder is complete on its own. free account on their side.
take this folder with you
// every file downloads as a plain file. no account, no email wall inside a folder.