1. Running head: CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 1
Content Retention Using Exit Slip Methodology
Rex Caverly
EDU 675
Dr. Lawrence Davenport
November 9, 2015

2. CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 2
Content Retention Using Exit Slip Methodology
Introduction
Within the regulatory and culture of the U.S. Military, there exists a paradigm of the
professional briefing. The main purpose is to educate the military member in a variety of ways
and on multiple topics. As eradicating the paradigm of the brief would be insurmountable in the
short-term, it was decided to attempt to improve upon the content retention aspect.
With regard to education in general, it has been argued that the purpose of education is to
create a multi-purpose enterprise to produce better adults (Noddings, 2015). Since content
retention has been a problem in the past with the Community Housing Brief (CHB), and keeping
the aforementioned purpose of education in mind and as the intent behind the CHB is to educate,
it was determined therefore to explore exit slip methodology as a way to improve content
retention, due to its documented ability to stimulate student self-analysis (Marzano, 2012).
Context
U.S. military members and their dependents arrive daily in the United Kingdom, as well
as other locations across the globe. One of the first items on the agenda, both virtual and literal,
for the newly arrived, is to find suitable and affordable community housing. Because of the
abundance of military members arriving in foreign countries, such as the United Kingdom, the
Department of Defense (DoD) has determined that it is in the best interest of the member, their
family, and the United States in general to ensure the members are given the opportunity to
benefit from subject matter experts in the field of community housing imparting their own
wisdom in the form of briefings (Smietana, 2006). During these briefings and for extended times
afterword, it has been observed on multiple occasions that members have not been retaining the
information that they had been given.

3. CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 3
Literature Review
With this problem in mind and after learning about different instructional methodologies
that were more interactive and subsequently more successful in content mastery, exit slip
methodology was chosen as the method that would provide the best results, due mainly to its
documented ability to stimulate student self-analysis (Marzano, 2012). However, Leigh (2012)
further supports this methodology, who, when conducting her own study, discovered multiple
areas that pointed to a growth in content knowledge. Another reason exit slip methodology was
chosen for this study, was its documented ability to assist the educator in targeting the briefing to
the specific needs of the individual and collective needs of the audience members (Moorehead &
Grillo, 2013). While “Clicker” technology performs as an electronic exit slip, it was not
employed. However, due to its documented efficacy in student participation, ease of use, and
rapid feedback, it would be the preferred form of delivery (Moratelli & Dejarnette, 2014).
Area of Focus/ Research Question
This action research project was subsequently conducted that sought to answer the
research question: “Will exit slip methodology increase information retention in military and
civilian members during the off-base housing brief.” The purpose of this paper is to discuss the
data collection methodologies, as well as an analysis of the resultant data and to finally, to
discuss future implications of these findings.
Intervention/ Data Collection Strategies
As Leigh (2012) sought to answer a similar question regarding appropriate modalities to
increase critical thinking in college students, ultimately determining that exit slip methodology
ultimately answered her research question in a decisive manner, it was hypothesized that exit slip
methodology in the form of Post-It notes, would ultimately yield similar results in my audiences

4. CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 4
and thus, increase information retention. This action research study was conducted well within
my locus of control during seven one-hour briefing sessions, as members, as stated previously,
are mandated to attend. Fluctuation in the number of attendees were not considered statistically
significant, as the focus of the study was on the briefing session itself, rather than the number of
attendees. Participation observation, as described by Mills (2013) and dynamic questioning were
also methods of data collection employed. However, at the outset, this was not initially intended.
It became apparent during the first session that other factors had emerged that had an impact on
audience participation and thus, exit slip efficacy. Three questions relating to three critical areas
of community housing were then posed to each audience member after the briefing was
conducted.
Outcome Analysis
Data analysis shows that the vast majority (19 of 29) of attendees had demonstrated the
intended effects of exit slip inclusion (Compare Fig 1. & Fig. 2) However, there were instances
where members (2 in the first and second briefings and one in the seventh), were showing signs
of fatigue due to jet-lag and were unwilling to participate. Still others (one in the third, fourth,
and three in the sixth) who avoided participating in the exit slip method in favor of taking notes.
However, these were later used as comparison data. When questioned orally after the briefing
had concluded, not one of the non-participants could correctly answer the question posed.
Comparatively, all who had participated in the exit slip exercise were able to recall and answer at
least one (one member) and many (eleven members) could answer two of the three critical
questions posed. The remaining seven members answered all three questions correctly.

5. CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 5
Figure 1
Figure 2
4%
18%
55%
23%
Number of Questions AnsweredCorrectly
Without Exit Slip Intervention
3
2
0-1
Non-Participant

6. CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 6
Learning Themes
When analyzing the resultant data, it has become clear, in spite of the few members that
refused to participate, that my research question: “Will a more interactive method of delivery
increase information retention in military and civilian members during the off-base housing
brief,” can be confidently answered in the affirmative. However, with the resultant data and
testing the theory in practice, there has emerged new problems with attempting to capture the
interest of the non-participating members and to subsequently motivate them to participate.
Further, it has also become apparent that even though exit slip methodology had the intended
outcome on content analysis, it has become apparent that as an intervention for a briefing, it adds
some time (approximately 15 minutes) and is therefore slightly impractical given the current
allotted briefing time of 1 hour.
Action Plan
With the resultant data from this study, it is hoped that I can challenge the status quos as
an informal leader (Buczynsk & Hansen, 2014). Given the issues that have been identified with

7. CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 7
regard to the execution of this study, in order for the change to be implemented, a few
adjustments would be necessary. To begin with, as noted previously, duration of the briefing
session would need to be either extended, or briefing content reduced. However, content
reduction would require a team consensus, and non-value-added information identified and
removed. Further, leadership at multiple levels would be required to support mandatory
participation in utilization of exit slip methodology for both the briefer, as well as the military
members in order to maximize the efficacy of the exit slip. In addition to this, given that the
advent of technological innovations has given us clicker and voting software, it would be of
further benefit to the process both economically and through increased efficiency to adopt this
delivery method.
Conclusion
As stated previously, briefing is a form of education, albeit abbreviated. Treating it as
such and giving it a similar consideration as we do to formalized education would do well to
maximizing its benefits. As it has been noted in the literature review, exit slip methodology has
shown to increase knowledge growth, stimulate student self-analysis, and assist the educator (or
briefer) in targeting the content to the needs of the individual and collective audience and given
that the aforementioned purpose of education is to produce better adults, it is for these reasons,
bolstered by this study, that exit slip methodology would be the best option to address the
problem of increasing content retention in the CHB. Further analysis would need to be conducted
in order to address increasing efficacy among learning impaired members, such as those with
ADHD, as medication for this disorder is not allowed under current regulations for active duty
members.

8. CONTENT RETENTION USING EXIT SLIP METHODOLOGY 8
References
Buczynski, S., & Hansen, C. B. (2014). The Change Leader in Education: Roles and Strategies
in the Differentiated Environment.
Leigh, S. R. (2012). The Classroom is Alive with the Sound of Thinking: The Power of the Exit
Slip. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 24(2), 189-
196. Retrieved October 12, 2015, from http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/
Mills, G. E. (2014). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Marzano, R. J. (2012). The many uses of exit slips. Educational Leadership, (2). Retrieved
October 8, 2015, from Edsgao.
Moorehead, T., & Grillo, K. (2013, March). Celebrating the Reality of Inclusive STEM
Education. Teaching Exceptional Children, 45(4), 50-57. Retrieved November 9, 2015,
from Academic Search Premier.
Moratelli, K., & Dejarnette, N. K. (2014, May). Clickers to the Rescue. Reading Teacher, 67(8),
586-593. doi:10.1002/trtr.1261
Noddings, N. (2015, June). A Richer, Broader View of Education. Society, 52(3), 232.
doi:10.1007/s12115-015-9892-4
Simeata, M. J., Col. (Ed.). (2015). AFI 31-6001. Family Housing Management, 70-75. Retrieved
September 28, 2015, from http://static.e-
publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a4/publication/afi32-6001/afi32-6001.pdfWeb. 29 Oct.
2015. <http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a4/publication/afi32-6001/afi32-
6001.pdf>.