JoinPoint of View: Questions From the Edge: Using Informal Surveys to Build Rapport With Students
“Astronomy helps us answer the ultimate question of human existence,” and “Astronomy helps us understand the meaning of our own existence.” These thoughts caught the attention of one professor who wondered what students thought about the meaning of their existence. The results of surveying students on this and two other questions have supplied information that is not only interesting in its own right for insights into student interests, but has also provided opportunities to foster rapport with students through discussions related to their responses.