This article discusses use of a 3-part set of questions to foster student buy-in for a newly-designed active learning methodology in an introductory geology course at a southwestern U.S. university. The questions were posed within the the following context: "Thinking of what you want to get out of your college education and this course, which of the following is most important to you?" The responses included: 1) Acquiring information (facts, principles, concepts); 2) Learning how to use information and knowledge in new situations; and 3) Developing lifelong learning skills." In the course in which these questions were introduced and thoroughly discussed the first day of class, students performance on exams was better and the semester-end evaluations for the instructor were higher.