Speaker
Description
How can we help Young Learners develop awareness of their learning and take greater responsibility for their progress? This presentation explores the power of self-reflection through exit tickets - short written or spoken responses completed at the end of a lesson (Main, 2022). While often overlooked, these simple tools can encourage language development, promote learner autonomy and support more informed teaching decisions (Basco, 2021; Fowler et al., 2019; Rodriguez et al., 2024).
The presentation draws on real classroom examples from the speaker’s own teaching experience in Vietnam, working with a variety of age groups and levels in young learner contexts. These examples show how exit tickets can be successfully adapted even for low-level or mixed-ability classes. A range of inclusive paper and digital formats will be shared, including visual supports, sentence starters and drawing prompts, ensuring that all learners can access reflection in a way that suits their needs.
The presentation also highlights how exit tickets align with Assessment for Learning principles (Black et al., 2003; Wiliam, 2013), particularly in creating opportunities for student voice and timely feedback. When used thoughtfully, exit tickets become a powerful tool for differentiation, helping teachers adjust instruction and support based on individual learners’ reflections (Fowler et al., 2019; Main, 2022).
By the end, participants will:
• understand the role of reflection in promoting deeper learning;
• be equipped with a bank of exit ticket prompts and formats;
• recognise the potential of exit tickets for formative assessment;
• gain practical strategies to include self-reflection in everyday classroom routines.
References:
• Basco, R.O. (2021) ‘Exit slips as predictor of academic performance’, Journal of Education, Management and Development Studies, 1(2), 52-61
• Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. and Wiliam, D. (2003) Assessment for learning. Putting it into practice. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press
• Fowler, K., Windschitl, M. and Richards, J. (2019). ‘Exit tickets: understanding students, adapting instruction and addressing equity’, The Science Teacher, 86(8), 18-16.
• Main, P (2022). ‘How can exit tickets be used as an effective formative assessment tool and how can they be used to promote the development of more profound student learning outcomes?’ Retrieved from https://www.structural-learning.com/post/exit-tickets
• Rodriguez, M., le Roux, C. & Melville, M. (2024). ‘Iteratively-designed exit tickets enhances student learning’. College Teaching, 1–9.
• Wiliam, D. (2013). ‘Assessment: The bridge between teaching and learning’. Voices from the Middle, 21(2), 15-20.
Biography
Elena Ostashchenko is an experienced EFL educator with 17 years of teaching across EFL, ESP and IELTS contexts, working with both with young learners and adults. Based in Vietnam since 2017, she holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Leicester (2023), as well as full Cambridge qualifications - CELTA (2017) and Delta (2019).
Her professional interests include materials design, learner autonomy and project-based learning (PBL). She is passionate about creating a learner-centred environment for her students where everyone feels welcome and included. She’s also active in teacher mentoring and continuous professional development, and has supported colleagues in India and Vietnam through workshops, observations and feedback.
Elena has presented at several ELT conferences, including New Directions 2023, APAC Online Teaching Conference 2023, ACEID 2024, BBELT 2024, MEA 2024, Teaching English ASEAN 2024, Macmillan New Voices 2024 and Macmillan Advancing Assessment Day 2025, sharing practical classroom insights and contributing to the wider ELT community.
