Teacher Guide to Research Calculator - Thing #6

It is clearly evident that a huge amount of work went into creating the Teacher Guide to the Research Project Calculator. I like that there's detailed explanations if you want them, or concise bullet-type info as well. The blue/green side-by-side layout of students' view and teachers' view made it easy to follow. The graphic organizers are very helpful, as are the guide sheets and the rubric. Regarding the research process and targeting a topic that will motivate students, I recall a student, who after many questions, finally realized he was worried about going bald because his father and brothers were. That's what he did his project on. There was no problem motivating him after he settled on a topic that was meaningful to him, just as Doug Johnson points out. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to easily find the personal "hook" for each student in the process of questioning, but when they do, it makes the paper writing much easier for them. As with everything at school, time is the issue. How much time can one realistically take per student to effectively probe and cull out an excellent research topic with provocative questions? How will the classroom teacher manage time so that the RPC can effectively be used? I can see parts of it being used at a time. Teachers' curriculum is often so jam-packed trying to meet state standards, it's hard for them to envision an open spot for something new, even though it might be very helpful.