The Minute Paper

Submitted by Leecy Wise on Tue, 04/05/2016 - 10:14
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A teacher in an online class that I currently facilitate shared the following comments yesterday in one of our forums:

I used a minute paper with my students this morning as both a pre-and post activity. I was able to quickly assess student mastery of a specific concept in a quick and easy way...I observed a class...in which a teacher had used the minute paper to identify challenges in a science classroom last week. Today, she used some of the student's responses to generate a discussion on misconceptions. It was a fabulous class. The teacher spoke for 12 of 120 minutes as students worked out their misconceptions through conversation, research and small group work. I love those kinds of classes. Sheryl Michael, Colorado Adult Educator

Following are a couple of sites on the topic for anyone who wants to explore it further.

Please share your experience using minute papers or similar CATs (Classroom Assessment Techniques) to generate writing, metacognition, and dialogue. Thanks! Leecy (leecy@reconnectioncompany.com)

Comments

I call it an exit slip and use it at the end of the PD that I do for teachers. I tell them that if they include their email address, I will email the answer to the question they have. I also ask them for the 3 most important things they learned. Even though I may never see the teachers again, their responses help me tweak my trainings for the next time.

Feedback can be hugely useful in future planning. Do you often get responses through email? What kinds of comments do they make on important things that they learned? I know that some folks end their onsite sessions that way, having everyone say what they learned the most. I have mixed feelings about having everyone speak up in that way. What's your take, Di? Leecy

I usually get lots of folks who include their emails on their exit slips so I can answer the questions they have when I get back to the office. Sometimes the responses to what they learned are surprising but they all list at least one thing they learned. I like to use the exit slips becasue it takes less time than having everyone report out and it also doesn't put anyone on the spot. I can also take my time to read the exit slips over and think about the answers I got. Sometimes I'll use a "preassessment" - the KWL -  at at the beginning of my training, then I'll spend extra time on or add in the things they said they wanted to know. And it's a nice review at the end when we talk about what they learned.