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23096C10E52A | Schools now are requiring their students to complete summer projects to assure they are learning and maintaining the knowledge gained in the past school year. Though there has been some contemplation as to whether these projects should be teacher-designed or student-designed. Students should design their projects because it will be in their skill set and the students will be more likely to complete it because it will be in their field of interest. However, there should also be some restriction as well. Students should only get to design their project if the teacher approves of it before hand.
Every student has their own interests and things they like to do, whether it be in or out of school. With projects being in their particular field of interest, they will be more inclined to learn about the topic and complete a project on it. Kids who are more interested in animals and nature might not be as interested in a project about space or robotics, therefore not being as excited to do it and there is even a possibility of them getting a bad grade. From experience in a previous project I completed on manatees, I was interested and wanted to research the topic I chose. Projects that fit best to my interests where more fun and enjoyable, and allowed me to complete it on time while having lots of information on the topic at hand. These projects are also being completed during summer, a time when students are enjoying their long break. A project that is fun and to their liking will help the student get it done quicker and better. Students interests are sometime lost in the teachers decision, therefore they should acknowledge that students all arent the same and allow their students to design whatever project seems the most eye-catching to them. In the end, it makes a more excited and focused student.
Along with students having different interests, they also have different skill sets as well. There is a wide range of courses and topics that each and every student does well with while others find more challenging. For example, a student could have a hard time in a math class while another thrives. Being a student myself, knowing that I would have to complete a project that i'm not as familiar and skilled at would stress me out to the point of not completing it. During summer most students use that time to relax from all their hard work during the school year and by adding on a project which doesn't align with their skills will cause them to feel panicked and overwhelmed to get it finished on time and have all the key elements. Projects should showcase what a student knows to their class, teachers, and sometimes family, but when given a topic that is far more challenging, they are less likely to complete it to the best of their abilities.
One reason why there is controversy on whether the summer projects should be student-designed or teacher-designed is because the learning aspect of the project could be lost. Students will design projects that will not be connected to the curriculum or non-educational, therefore not allowing the student to learn as much. However, there are ways to avoid this problem. One way is to get the teachers to approve of the given project. In their decision they will hold true to the students interests and skills and help guide the student to design a more adequate project if needed. This will decrease the amount of non-educational projects that some students might come up with and also include the students main interests and better skills, which is often lost in a teacher-designed project.
The requirement of summer projects has much controversy on whether the students should chose their project themselves or the teachers. With the students being able to do so, their certain interests will be included and their skills will be showcased. However, there would be an issue of students picking projects that won't be as educational as the school intended for them to be. To avoid this problem, teachers would approve of the given project, lowering the amount of non-educational projects while also having the student be excited and focused to do the project. In conclusion, summer projects should be student-designed, but only if the teacher approves of it. | 6 | 719 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
EBD36D034DAC | Lots of kids love having summer break off from school, but when it comes to summer assignments there's only so much time in the summer for students to fit all their prior plans in with all the over-the-summer school work their teachers assign. And majority of students would also rather not do school work on their break from school and would just want to enjoy the time off but many schools require students to do some sort of school work over the summer to keep their brains active and to help them continue to learn. Some students have take part in saying that they would like to design their own summer projects for many different reason. In contrast, some teachers don't agree with the students for the summer projects to be student-designed. The required summer assignments should be teacher-designed by the students upcoming teacher so that the students can be prepared fully on what they are going to learn for the upcoming school year, so that the their teachers can make sure they include work from last year so they don't forget about the stuff they previously learned about, and because teachers will most likely organize the work to be an appropriate amount since they're use to giving school work with projects and due dates but also understand that there are students that go on vacations and won't have the whole summer to complete an assignment.
Teachers will know exactly how to format these projects and/or school work in correct ways to make their students stay active in learning and thinking to be prepared for the upcoming school year since they obviously will be teaching it for the rest of the school year. Since the projects and/or school work will be teacher-designed, their teachers can make sure it's relating to things they will eventually go more in depth with but be put into summer assignments to give some challenge or hints to students for what they're gonna go into more throughout the school year. The summer assignment from their upcoming teachers can also give the student an understanding of how the teachers teaching style is. And the expectations the teacher has since the work is given directly to the student by the teacher themselves.
Teachers can also make sure to include in their summer project some previously learned information on their summer assignments to not only see if they remember and fully learned that particular concept, but to also see where as a student they stand and if they need more help or attention with that topic. It can help a teacher get to know a student better by seeing where they stand as a student after the work they did in their previous classes/grade. Also, putting in some challenging work from the previous grade can also tell the students that the particular topic or concept could be something their upcoming teacher thinks is very important to fully understand in order to move forward, or just to understand in general. It can give the student an idea of how their teacher thinks and will be doing things from now on.
Since teachers became teachers by going to graduate school and some having other degrees included for their job, they usually have a good, if not, great understanding of good teaching skills and tactics and work format styles from their own past professors and previous teaching experiences. If they have a lot experience, it could help them gain knowledge over the time being on what worked well for them as a teacher and their students versus what didn't work. The teachers could have also been exposed to many different teaching styles and found one they believe is easiest to understand and/or thinks is easiest or their level of students to understand. Teachers can know ways to make sure projects or assignments could be organized good while also not entirely taking up a whole students summer with school work. They can organize it so it's spread out or split up into parts at a time so they don't put much pressure on the student who could feel overwhelmed by all the work they have to complete in a short amount of time. Especially if the student waits until the last minute to complete their summer assignment because they thought the assignment was really long and time consuming.
Going back to how some students could think that they could make an assignment just as equally as efficient themselves just as teachers would, teacher-designed projects would be more efficient regardless since it could be more helpful to teacher because it could be based on exactly what the teacher wants to know about what the student knows to help them succeed for the rest of the school year. And most summer assignments are different depending on the class too. If a student is going into a class they've never taken before, how could they make up a student-designed summer assignment to help them when their teacher could just give them a direct summer assignment as a jump start for the school year. Teacher-designed jump-start summer assignments are just less problematic, more reliable, and reasonable for everyone overall. | 6 | 855 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Hispanic/Latino | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
11950E4412E5 | Summer break is the most anticipated time of year for students and teachers because it is a grace period that allows for relaxation and refreshment,of one's soul. The summer sees,the mental maturation of many students without the hindrance of a classroom,holding them back. The learning experience offered in a classroom setting is limited only to what the teacher and state permits. Students are not fully able to express their learning passions because they are forced to learn what the teacher permits. Whereas, during the summer students are free to conduct their own personal investigations on topics that peak their interest, resulting in a much maturer student by the time fall rolls around. To coincide with the theme of change and growth summer promotes, students should have the ability to choose their own projects, to further their educational experience and mental development, without the influence of a teacher.
The ability for students to choose their own summer projects would enhance their outlook on education,because they would study topics that interest them,and not teacher selected topics that would seem like a task. It is a scientifically proven fact that students retain knowledge that speaks to their own curiosities and that holds the most relevance to them. During the summer, many students travel to new places or try new things. For example, last summer I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Japan with my friends and family. While I was there I tried new cuisines,participated in festivities and I was able to learn about their history. My time in Japan, sparked an interest that I never knew I had in Japanese Geisha. I spent hours upon hours researching everything I could on them. But, my research was limited because I had to complete an AP Human Geography summer assignment administered by my future teacher. My assignment was to write a paper and create a brochure about a country. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to write all about my trip to Japan. That is until I realized the teacher had already selected countries based on our last names. I was stuck with Great Britain, a country I already had a lot of knowledge of from history class and videos. I like many students completed the assignment without gaining any new information because doing the project felt as if it were a chore. Though,I do still remember the information I learned from conducting my own research into Geisha. Many teachers would argue that a student designed summer project would lack information or seem to rushed. Which would not be the case at all. Many students would take their time in crafting a project that meets all standards and would probably write more than what is expected, due to the project peaking their interest. Teachers would in fact, see an increase of higher marks. However, if a teacher feels that the project is not up to standards they could always low score it and have the student try again. In allowing students to design their own project teachers will receive projects that exceed all requirements due to the students behind the projects being interested in what they were learning.
If students were able to create their own summer projects, the result would be a more creative,responsible and independent thinking person. Teacher designed projects allow no room for creativity nor responsibility because there are guidelines and an examples set in place by the teacher,students have to follow. Thus, resulting in one hundred or more projects that all sound the same and lack any indication of the student's voice. Teachers would argue that summer projects must be designed by them, so that all students are able to receive full credit. Which is great in theory,but not in the long run. It does not benefit the student to have a guideline or rubric, it only benefits the teacher because the projects would be easier to grade. In the future, once students start working, supervisors will not give them examples of how to properly execute a project. For example, my mother is a graphic designer who is required to come with new ideas for campaigns, brochures and websites. Her boss isn't giving her instructions on how to complete the tasks, at all. She must be responsible in using her mind to come up with creative new ideas that she thinks would satisfy her boss. However, at her old job all the graphic designers were given an example they had to follow. Which resulted in the closing of her old company because they only produced the same design. Luckily for mom, she was able to find another job fast because she was to create designs without assistance. The skills my mother used to think creatively and on her own, was taught in school. But, with teachers designing projects, students get used to a formula they have to follow and are not taking responsibility for their own thinking. Students creating their own summer projects would force students to take time and think of a project that they think would satisfy their teacher. It would stimulate new thoughts and force them to activate the create side of their brain that has not been used for a while,due to teachers constantly creating a rubric and examples for the student. The summer is a perfect opportunity for a student designed project because they would have time to develop their thoughts. Teachers shouldn't design summer projects because it aides in diminishing a student's ability to creatively solve projects.
Students should have the ability to create their own summer assignments because it would promote mental and educational growth that would otherwise be hindered in a classroom setting. Summer break allows students to embark on new experiences that can further expand their knowledge on topics that interest them. It would also allow more time for students to develop their ideas for the project. Which would strengthen their creativity and responsibility skills. Student designed projects would help grow character. | 6 | 1,000 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Black/African American | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
58DCDD1DFDDB | Summer projects are a good idea to keep student's active and learning throughout the summer. They can be beneficial for some core classes such as math, history, and english, but can also be tedious and stressful during a break that should be relaxing. Haiving good intentions in mind, teachers creating summer projects for challenging courses try to make them doable and a low intesity learning experience. Even so, it does not always seem that way to the students who dread them and push them off until the last week of summer. Summer projects should be student designed because it is the students' learning, their grade is dependent upon the work, and sometimes a teacher will present too much work.
Whether or a not a student wants to learn is completely their choice, and they will deal with the positive and negative effects. For example, some students think that having a summer project for a challenging course is pointless because they will likely just forget everything by the start of the school year. This can prove to be true, or it can lead to their struggling grades and other consequences. Very few people actually want to do work over summer break, so it is up to the student to decide what is important to them and how they want to prepare for school. Some students do well with shorter reviews, while others need long practices to relearn what they did not understand. Students should design summer projects so that they can customize them to their individual needs.
Along with the negative consequences a student must understand that their grade in the class is dependent upon how much work they do over them summer, so designing the summer project would be beneficial in helping them improve. Most classes that require summer assignments start off the in the first quarter with an assumption that they students completely understand the material that was supposed to be covered over the summer. With most classes, a student will skip around the summer asignment and just try to do the things they need to work on, jumbling knowledge up in their head as they try to organize themselves. Understanding what they need to work on, the students can design a summer projet that would help in areas of weakness in hopes of improving their school grades. This will be helpful in the future because the students can individually learn and then bring what they have learned throughout the summer back to the classroom and help others.
Lastly, in designing summer projects, teachers tend to compile a ton of needless work that none of the students do. For instance, in an AP class the teacher usually thinks that they more you practice the better you will get, which is usually true. Because of this mindset they will put together pages of practice tests, and notes for a student to complete throughout the summer causing absolute chaos and a huge amount of stress. Despite practice making perfect, no one wants to fill out papers over the summer. Since the students know their workload from other classes and what they are capable of, they can put together a decent amount of work that is not too long. If the students were to design summer projects they would be more inclined to do them because it would not be such a tedious amount of work.
Even though teachers make summer projects because they design the learning plan for the year, students would get much more out of them if they made them together because of the learning aspect that comes with it. Students should design them because they would be able to identify their weaknesses collectively, and create practices that would help them in the future. This is much better than teachers compiling useless, terrifying tests from randomn websites that are pushed off until the last week of summer. | 6 | 644 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Two or more races/Other | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
F83B719757F6 | Summer homework, one of the most scary phrases said by any teacher. Many schools and teachers require projects to be completed over the Summer to keep topics fresh in students minds while the students are on break. While this train of thought does make sense, these projects should be designed by the students. It is unreasonable to think that students should work around the teachers schedule during the summer, as if they hadn't been doing that the entire school year. Student designed assignments would allow the children to continue their learning while still being able to go on vacation and work at their jobs. It would also allow them to become more engaged with what they are learning, as they would be be in the drivers seat of their learning, making it more enjoyable. It would also let the teachers get a better understanding of their students and where their level of comprehension is with a certain topic. Student designed projects would allow for the students to learn, while also allowing them to have fun during their break.
Typically, when teachers assign homework over the break, they schedule due dates and assignments when it is beneficial to them, and not quite as much as the students. Giving the power to the students to make their own time line to help alleviate the stress of the projects, makes the assignments seem like less of a chore and helps them learn the content. A couple years ago, a teacher of mine assigned our class three books to be read over the summer. The first book had to be read by the end of June along with a quick report. Too bad for me, I was in Italy with my family, that I hadn't seen for a year, for the month. During the vacation I was barely able to spend time with my family as I was trying to read the assigned book and write a report. Because of this teacher designed summer assignment, I missed quality family time and rushed to finish my report. These restraints that wouldn't have happened if the schedule was student designed, caused me to not learn anything because I was too rushed, and also made me lose time with my family. If students were able to design a schedule for their assignments this would take away the stress that comes along with set due dates.
Another thing many teachers like to do, is to assign "busy work." Teachers assign busy work just to be able to say that the students are learning and working. During the Summer, Teachers often assign busy work to meet the schools requirement of a summer project. Often times this includes long packets, that students simply have to complete. They are extremely time consuming and non beneficial to the children. For example, let's say a science teacher requires the students to complete a project on the different bird species of the region. One student might really benefit from a book about the birds and learn from it, but another student is more of a visual learner. With a student designed project, the first student could read his book about the specific birds, while the other creates a project on the different species he sees around his neighborhood while documenting what he sees. Summer projects shouldn't all be the same, because everyone is different. If students were able to control how they were learning, everyone would be able to create a project that works best for them, which makes it easier to understand what they need to learn.
Many might think, that the teachers don't benefit from student designed projects, and this plan just reverses the stress to the teachers. But, not only would student made projects be beneficial to the children, it would also be beneficial to the teachers as well. Student made projects would allow teachers to gauge where each students level of comprehension of a certain subject/topic is and where each student needs a little extra help. Let's say a history teacher lets their students create a project about the government branches. One student writes about all of the branches of government but leaves out the fact that the President is a part of the Executive branch from their project. The teacher now knows what they should review in the upcoming school year. Since the project is in control by the students they are able to learn what they want and how they want, this freedom allows the teachers to help the students learn even further as they now have a better understanding of what the children's strengths and weaknesses are. While these students were learning about history their teacher was learning about them.
Leaving the students in charge of their summer assignments, benefits all those involved, from the teachers to the students. It lets students feel more relaxed during the break while also allowing them to learn at their own pace and more effectively. It allows the teachers to get a better understanding of where their students are so they can grow as teachers by knowing what the kids struggle with and how to improve in the future.
So, if teachers are required to give students Summer assignments, hand the keys to the kids and let them drive. | 6 | 871 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
2B225254A079 | Throughout the span of a student's 3 month summer break, it is inevitable that their acquired knowledge from the previous school year will gradually decline due to the sudden ceasing of education for this period of time. Many teachers, however, believe that it is crucial for a student to continue their studies throughout the summer break in the form of a project that will allow the student to apply their knowledge through hands-on means. However, in order to ensure that a student gains the most benefit from this summer project experience, it is only reasonable that the student design the entirety of the project because it allows them to be more engaged in it, it builds and improves a student's creativity, and it allows a teacher to understand the mind of a student and his or her preferences after a full year of solely teacher-based tests, assignments, and projects.
The mind of a student is an interesting place, and it seems as if they favor self authority rather than an authoritative figure controlling and molding them to see their own way and not the way of the student. This is also observed throughout infancy and early childhood; people of this age take a liking towards having something done their own way rather than strictly obeying a parent or guardian. Likewise, a student prefers to mold and shape their own experiment or project rather than being coerced to attend to the wants of a teacher. This notion is based on the simple fact that one favors their own choices, as this initiates a sense of freedom in a person. If a summer project assigned to a student is based on the preferences and views of a student, the student has the ability to adjust the assignment in accordance with what they want, and this allows for a higher degree of engagement in a student. For example, if a student has an interest towards environmental science and a strong dislike towards US history, a teacher-given summer project that revolves around US history and is based strictly on the teacher's guidelines is ineffective due to the fact that the student would not show a high level of interest for that teacher-based project. As a result, the student wouldn't feel the need to perform his best on the project due to his disinterest. However, if the student were to have a voice in the choosing of a project based on environmental science, the student would transfer his passion of the subject onto the project and perform his best due to his engagement in the topic of the project and the lack of control and authority given to the teacher in this case. Therefore, a student-designed project results in more engagement from the student.
One of the most striking, intriguing characteristics of a person is that of creativity. The human mind is capable of doing wonders that are unfathomable to some; however, this can only be achieved through exhibiting one's creativity. A summer project designed by a student opens many doors and directions to take; from an informative poster to a vivid animation, the possibilities are endless. These array of options force a student to utilize their creative potential. Moreover, a student-based project allows one to 'think outside the box', meaning that they are able to create a project that exceeds the standards and expectations of a teacher. Through these various options at the hands of a student, the high level of creativity has the potential to transfer onto numerous other skills and positively influence them. At an early age, it is vital to utilize creativity to the best of one's ability, as this skill will benefit a student later in their life when an occupation or professor expects that student to exemplify their creativity.
Throughout the entirety of the school year, the manner by which each test, assignment, and project is created is solely in the hands of a teacher. In other words, students do not have the ability to shift or change the perspective of a teacher and what the teacher prefers. However, a student-designed summer project is the one opportunity for a student to exhibit their power and allow a student to influence the manner by which the project is done. After a difficult, enduring school year, it is only reasonable that the student has the power to create their own means of work rather than sticking to the teacher handing out the project with strict guidelines and restrictions.
Furthermore, this opportunity for a student allows the teacher to examine the potential of a student after the school year, including the student's creativity, intelligence, and ability to create a successful project when the outcome of the project relies on the student rather than the teacher. All in all, this one opportunity for a student to play the role of a teacher is beneficial and something that should be taken advantage of.
In today's day and age, school systems around the country have shown interest towards a summer project. However, merely implementing a summer project is not enough; it is important to take into consideration the benefits of a student-designed project and allow the student to have control over an assignment rather than the teacher. This small step of changing a teacher-based project into a student-based project will result in a large step in the future of education and the success of students. | 6 | 895 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
BAB1FB7CF30F | As students are furthering their education, teachers are assigning summer assignments in order to prepare them for their upcoming class. Many believe these summer assignments should be student designed due to students' convenience, nevertheless, these summer assignments should be teacher designed because it ensures that students are prepared for the class, exposes them to new material outside of their comfort zone, and keeps students' busy throughout the break.
Before the school year ends, teachers take time out of their work day to produce a summer assignment for their students' next school year. Having teacher designed summer assignments help ensure that students are ready for the content in their upcoming year. Students are unable to know their struggles with next years content until they are actually in that class. Teachers are able to look at their lower scoring topics of the year and put a couple questions of that topic onto the summer assignment. By doing this, it will help the students learn from the past students' struggle topics. Because of the summer assignment, students are able to get a boost and learn quicker when they are being taught in class. An example of this happened during a student's sophomore year while picking their junior year classes. This particular student had to choose between academic biology or honors biology; they were unsure of which class they wanted to take. The student eventually choose honors biology in the end; she found out that about the summer assignment due the first week of classes. She struggled with converting units and was nervous the topic would be a struggle in the class. Her teacher assured her that it was normal to struggle as many other students struggled with that as well. She complained on and on until she came into class that next year and excelled due to the summer assignment she completed. If the student had designed her own summer assignment, she would not have excelled as well as she did because of the teacher designed summer assignment.
As teachers are designing their own summer assignment for their class, they put new material that the students have never been exposed to. While many express how having student designed summer assignments give students more freedom; they don't realize how most students will not go outside of their comfort zone to learn new material. If the students were to design their own summer assignment, all of the material will be information that they already knew or are most comfortable with. Teacher designed summer assignments will give a chance for the student to push themselves out of their comfort zone to learn new information that will ultimately help them with their next school year. For example, the summer before junior year, an AP Language and Composition teacher gave students an assignment that included reading or watching 15 sources. These 15 sources had to be stretched out from 5 different categories: current events, history, politics, entertainment, and documentaries. The students were forced out of their comfort zone by their teacher having their students exposed to all of the different categories. Because of the exposure, the students are aware of information they would not have known if they didn't complete the assignment. When given the chance, students will stay in their own comfort zone; which the teachers can break when there are teacher designed summer assignments.
When the teachers are trying to break students' comfort zones with the summer assignments, it gives the students a chance to think outside of the box and spend more time trying to interpret the new information. For most students, summer break is filled with eating and watching TV on their couch; if the students were given the chance to design their own assignment for the break, they would put easy information for them to complete in order for them to have more time to spend on the couch eating chips. The students would come back with their minds still tangled up with the TV and couch; if teachers were to design the assignment, the teachers would put information that they know would keep the students' minds busy and working throughout the summer. This makes it easier for students to ease back into school; rather than them still being in summer mode 3 months into the school year.
Being eased back into the school year is a thing many students struggle with. It can be fixed by having teacher designed summer assignments. It is time for all teachers to regulate teacher designed summer assignments in order to make the school year easier for all students. While many students will complain about the workload, it will pay off later when they realize the summer assignment helped them with the content of the class. They will also be interested in new topics because of the teachers input in the summer assignment to push them outside of their comfort zone. Overall, summer assignments have been proven to assist students all around when they are teacher designed. | 6 | 826 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
6AE4BFE2E5CF | A student's freedom from the limitations of the classroom's necessary rules during the summer provides new opportunities for them to learn in dynamic ways. While, in the classroom, a teacher's control of a regulated learning program is unavoidable in order to teach such a broad audience in such a short time, there are no such factors outside the classroom. The variable shape of a student's summer project provides a unique opportunity for the student's specific educational needs to be accounted for - which a teacher-designed project wouldn't be able to take advantage of. Education during the summer should be student-designed, because the student can pander to their learning style and interest, it can reinvigorate the student with a passion for learning, and it instills a certain independence from adult figures that will be necessary later in life.
Students learn in many different ways. Psychological studies have shown that there are different types of learning, from spacial to audio to visual, and students learn better in some ways than others. A rising awareness of mental health has also led to the understanding that brains process information in different ways, so students with autism or ADHD don't get the same results from the conventional classroom practices. Student-designed summer projects would be able to take all these different specifications into account when structuring the project, so visual learners could visit exhibitions while attention deficient kids could apply whatever technique they need to help them study (listening to music for some, a totally still room for others). The dynamic nature of a student-designed project would be an advantage to the kids who need to learn in a different way from the regulated, cookie-cutter methods that teachers use. As well, a student-designed project could angle more in the direction of what the student wants to learn about. Students are forced to spend hours of a day paying attention to subject matters that they don't care for in order to get a generalized education. However, the point of a summer project is education itself, not education towards the goal of a degree. Students would be able to design a project that deepens their interest in a topic, broadens their knowledge in a niche industry. Education would feel more like a hobby than a chore if a student could account for what they learn and how they want to learn it.
A student-designed summer project would be exciting for students, because the agency over their education would allow them to create highly specified and perfect learning courses for themselves. Going through a program that teaches them in a way that they both understand and enjoy would be exciting and possibly life changing. The modern school system is the most monstrous source of stress on the childhood and adolescent mind. Even though learning should be acknowledged as a privilege, wonder, and necessity, it becomes a burden to students. Between the forced socialization of the classroom environment, administrations that care more for policy than the experience of the individual, a constantly building workload, and a set of rules and grades that are constantly judging and disciplining behavior, schooling becomes nightmarish for students. The poor environment weighs so heavily on the minds of children that they often develop mental illnesses or complexes, and, in extreme cases, are driven to suicide over poor grades (which, in the grand scheme of life, should be menial). Student-designed summer projects would be a way to show students that learning can be a growing and nurturing experience, instead of a murderous one. That change in outlook in the mind of a student could make all the difference in that student's optimism, well being, and quality of life for the rest of their schooling career.
One of the main focuses of school is to prepare a student for adulthood. While school accomplishes that in many ways, it fails to teach students how to truly act independently, because their lives are always in some way being influenced by adults that hold real power. A student-designed summer project would fill this void of education, however, because it encourages students to make choices for themselves and then to carry through with those choices in order to make them a reality. Placing the responsibility of their own education on a student would encourage them to think critically and organizationally in order to create and then implement a strategy. The limitless possibilities of the project, because the design is given over to the student, would teach them how to narrow down vague concepts into specific plans. Even arranging for certain resources to be supplied, depending on the project, would show the student how to control moving parts - whether that manifests in asking their mother to buy eggs from the grocery store or in biking to the library to check out the necessary reading materials. Students are rarely prepared for the autonomy of college and the time-managing aspects of adulthood, because they're used to their parents or teachers doing things for them. Forcing a student to design a project that they then have to complete would be an introduction into the decision making of adulthood.
A student-designed summer project would help students grow, because they could change their views on the operations of education in the span of a few months. They would grow to be stronger learners, more persistent observers, and more assertive leaders. Since life is really a process of learning--whether that means learning skills, academics, or something else entirely--an easy relationship with the concept of learning is the most valuable thing for a person to develop. Student-designed projects are an easy opportunity to encourage and teach that kind of relationship, and students would develop an outlook on learning that would improve the way they interact with the world for the rest of their lives. | 6 | 961 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Hispanic/Latino | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
7A347C69D3D1 | Summer projects are a helpful tool to use to gain insight of a student's capabilities and to prepare them for the upcoming school year. Summer projects can be used for any subject or curriculum to help a student for their next courses, whether they are college level or not. Even though summer projects are designed to help students and can be done in a number of ways, it is beneficial to have it designed based on the teacher's curriculum and needs.
Though there are different varieties of how to formulate a summer assignment, having it expand on student skills and help teach a new subject can be beneficial for the teacher. Summer assignments can be used as a review and to help teach a new subject based on what the course is. Having it designed around the teacher's curriculum and upcoming plans allows for students to get a grasp and to expect what will be taught and the level of difficulty the class will be. For example, summer assignments for math tend to review previous subjects that will be used for a harder math course and will help expand on this knowledge. A summer assignment that I have done is one for Precalculus with Trigonometry that not only reviewed previous math skills but expanded on them which helped to prepare me for the course. Students have voiced that these projects are too hard and can never finish them in time. That is why assignments are given at the beginning of summer to allow exponential time to do them and are made in a way to teach and prepare students for what they will learn in a harder course, making an easier assignment will not be beneficial for these reasons. Summer projects can be made with different variations, having them based on a teacher's plans allows for an preparedness and an expansion of skills.
Summer projects are a beneficial tool for all students and teachers, though it is helpful for a teacher in the new year to teach the subject if students have some knowledge about it. Students tend to struggle when going into a new year, especially with classes that are college leveled and they have no knowledge about it or what they may be getting into. For an AP class, it can be useful for a student to complete an assignment and have some indication of what the teacher's curriculum is and be able to prepare for the class or even drop if they feel like they may fail it. I am in college weighted class now, and if it wasn't for the summer project, I can say I could have possible failed the class if it wasn't based on the teacher's curriculum and I could've been entirely loss in the class. Students may say that a summer assignment should be fun and they should be able to pick what to do, but a student picking the assignment will not be beneficial for the teacher, it can cause a teacher to redo their year plans and may be behind on teaching and preparing a student for an upcoming exam. Though students can pick if what and if they want to do the summer project, the assignments being based on the teacher's future teaching plans will allow the student to know upcoming expectations.
Summer projects are a tool to help a teacher, having them designed around the teacher's plans will allow each teacher to know where each student is and know where to focus most in the curriculum. Every student had different previous teachers who teach in different ways and have different capabilities and extensions of learning which can cause a struggle for teachers. For example, my English summer project was to read and annotate a novel so I could write an argumentative essay on it. After turning it in, it became clear to my AP Language Arts teacher that not every student was on the same skill level for writing and that she would have to reteach the basis of writing for different formats of essays; without the summer project she would not have know this. Summer reading assignments should allow a student to choose the book so they will want to read and get the assignment done. Having this choice, students may pick a book that is not on their skill level and can hurt them when doing assignments in the class. It will ruin teacher plans on what each unit will be and what will be taught in said units. Though students are mature enough to choose their assignments and parts for the projects, teachers design them to know more about each student and will be prepared to reevaluate their lesson plans.
Summer assignments come in a variety of ways, but having them based on the teacher's units and plans for the school year will prepare both student and teacher. Summer projects can be used in any subject to benefit the teacher and allow a smooth year for easier teaching when knowing the students skill set and be prepared to change plans to accommodate these. As a student continues to move up the grades and start taking college leveled classes, it is imperative to have some incoming knowledge of the subject and to expand on previous skills. Summer projects can either be student designed or teacher designed, but in the end a student ill benefit only if the assignment is based on the teacher. | 6 | 901 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Two or more races/Other | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
045E65F65BF3 | Summer break is the declaration of emancipation that sets students free from the abyss of school. The simple thought of summer elicits euphoria: late night movie marathons, hanging out with friends during weekdays, and sleeping in without having to worry about homework or exams. Nevertheless, there is one thing that keeps students' desks occupied during this relaxing break: summer projects. The disappointment of summer assignments is universal; I experienced this unpleasant disruption of paradise in both Korea and the United States. Having to complete projects during summer is stressful and time consuming--time that could be spent having fun with friends and family. Making summer projects student-designed rather than teacher-designed would therefore enable students to use their imaginations to implement and store their knowledge in a creative way, experiment with interests and passions, and enjoy their break stress-free while promoting their intrinsic motivation at the same time.
The entire school year is based on teacher-designed learning systems. Students complete worksheets and tests created by teachers, and projects itself are also designed by teachers--students are expected to follow a specific rubric with which they are graded based on. This rigid, inflexible system of learning prohibits students from expressing their creativity in fear of getting a bad grade. Thus, summer break should be preserved as a time for students to use their own imagination and creativity to complete a project that would help them maintain what they learned during the school year. For example, a student-designed summer project for a science class would encourage a student's thinking as they would be given the freedom to choose any topic that strike their interest to experiment or research on. On the other hand, a teacher-designed science project would simply be filling out packets of worksheets from academic readings. I have experience with the latter teacher-designed project from my sophomore year of high school. For my AP Biology class, I was given summer homework for which I had to read a biology textbook and complete worksheets. Looking back, I can say that the hours of reading were not helpful to my overall success in the course because I would fill the blanks without really understanding the information, or simply copy off of my friends.
In addition to providing an opportunity for use of creativity, summer is the perfect time to experiment with your interests and learn new skills. During school, students are so focused on studying to get good grades that they do not have the time to take a second and consider what their passion is. The long summer breaks are the once-a-year chance for students to explore and discover interests. To take my experience for example, my 6th grade summer homework in Korea was to complete tasks related to music and science--no specific guidelines or rubrics provided. That summer, I went to a music camp for a month where I practiced orchestral music with fellow musicians. For the science portion, I learned how to fix a leaking toilet, install new lights on the ceiling, and change the filter of a water fountain connected to a bathroom from my dad. Not only did these tasks complete my summer project, it was beneficial to me as I developed a passion for music and also learned valuable life skills.
Above all the benefits of summer break, the number one reason why students look forward to summer is probably because of the relief of stress. Summer is a time of break from school. During summer, students spend time with friends and family to enjoy the long break before entering the stressful school year. However, the amount of summer projects given, exclusively teacher-designed, seems to negatively correlate with the amount of stress relieved during summer from the school year. If students were allowed to create their own projects, they would be less stressed as opposed to when teachers assign them projects with strict requirements no different from the standard school work. For example, rather than English teachers assigning a list of books for students to read and annotate, allowing students to choose their own books would encourage many to actually complete the task. Having the freedom to choose their own book would be appealing as they would not be restricted to the expectations of school courses. This would help to moderate the stress from the project and instead provide intrinsic motivation for the students to continue learning over the summer.
A good solution for students' hatred toward summer assignments is enabling them to create their own project. Not only do student-designed projects promote creativity and high-level thinking, they also allow students to explore their interests and acquire new abilities. Moreover, having the freedom to choose their own projects lessens the stress of having to take the time out of their break to complete an assignment as well as strengthening their intrinsic motivation. | 6 | 798 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
5F3F027AABDA | During summer break, many teachers will assign a project that is designed to give students the freedom to work at their own pace and fully discover and interesting topic. When this project is designed too specifically by the teacher, however, many students become disinterested and only do the bare minimum of work. In order to keep students motivated, and make the project beneficial in their future lives, students should be allowed to design their own project for the summer. Student-designed summer projects motivate pupils to create higher quality products, solve diverse real-world problems, and develop unique skill sets that cannot be learned inside the classroom.
On the other hand, there are many who support the use of teacher-designed summer projects, because they are more related to the subjects taught in school and thus more useful in furthering students' education. Opponents cite several studies that show students forget nearly ten percent of what they learn in school over summer break. With a teacher-led project during the break, students will be encouraged to remember and use what they have learned in school instead of letting months of hard work in school go to waste. While it is true that students will learn more of the curriculum through a teacher-designed project, a better use of the time during summer is to teach subjects not covered in the curriculum. Topics that are specific to certain career fields can only be learned through independent study, and student-led summer projects are the most effective way to encourage this kind of study.
When students are given the freedom to choose a project that plays to their interests and learning style, instead of being forced to do a certain project by their teachers, the quality of the students' projects improves dramatically. One way that this freedom encourages a higher quality project is by increasing student engagement. Modern psychological studies have shown that students are less driven to succeed at a task if they feel they are being forced to accomplish it. Students allowed to choose their own summer project would not feel forced into a specific course of action, increasing their engagement in the assignment and thus the overall quality of their final project. Designing their own project also creates a higher-quality product by adapting it to their own learning styles. Psychologists working in the field of memory have found that students often learn best in one of four learning styles: Reading/Writing, Auditory, Visual, or Kinesthetic. With the ability to adapt the requirements of the assignment to their learning styles, students would create a higher-quality product with much less unnecessary effort. Because of this increase in quality, student-designed projects are also very effective at solving real-world problems.
Projects that have been chosen and designed by students create solutions to real-world problems in ways that teacher-led ones cannot. By deciding on their own projects, students can pursue interests that lie outside of the usual subjects found in school. Summer projects designed by teachers usually focus on one of the few categories of science, english, or mathematics that schools teach. Students who are provided the opportunity to design a project on their own will be able to pursue fields of study that are not touched on by schools, gaining knowledge in many other diverse areas of study. In addition, the ability to choose their own projects allow students to tackle problems that face our world today with their own unique solutions. As one example of this, a team of students who chose their own project for science class was able to create groundbreaking new technology for removing floating debris from the ocean, which has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people who depend on the health of the ocean to survive. If more students could pursue their interests in the same way that this team did, many new solutions to today's problems would emerge. In addition, students who pursue their own interests in this way are also much more prepared for their chosen careers in the future.
Student-designed projects develop unique skills in students that are not learned through teacher-led study. One skill that independent projects teach is the ability to do creative, independent work. As adults, many find that leadership positions in the workplace require some degree of creativity, and tasks must often be completed with little input from those higher in the chain of authority. By allowing students to produce their own ideas and work on their own schedule, rather than assigning students ideas and schedules, student-led projects encourage the traits that are necessary for any productive member of society. In giving students the independence to try out their own ideas, these projects also allow students to learn skills that are not covered by the main subjects of traditional schooling. For example, a student interested in becoming a veterinarian would not learn very much about his or her desired career through the core classes, but would learn a great deal through a project requiring him or her to study animals. Student-designed projects, therefore, are much more effective than teacher-designed ones when it comes to preparing students for their future professions, and for their future lives as a whole.
When students are presented the opportunity to design their own summer projects, they become motivated to improve the quality of their work, make a lasting impact on the real world, and develop unique skills that can aid them in future careers. When students are given the freedom to choose who they want to be early on in their lives, they become better equipped in the future to make their dreams a reality. In order to produce students who are skilled, effective, and motivated to succeed, teachers should allow their students to choose what subjects they would like to explore during the summer. | 6 | 958 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | Two or more races/Other | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
140434C2B180 | Summer break is a time period of relaxation for students who have worked hard all year in school. Students tend to go on vacations where they forget everything they learned throughout the year. This is why teachers assign summer projects to make sure that their students are still learning and that they still stay engaged with academics on their breaks. As a high school student myself, I dread summer projects for the reason of having to complete school work whilst on vacation. When my teacher assigns a summer project, it is usually something that is boring and not engaging with other students. Student-designed summer projects have a completely different approach to them. When students can design their own summer projects, it encourages creativity and individuality from the student, it will encourage students to engage with other classmates and it creates a wide range of available topics to learn about.
When summer projects are student-designed, it allows students to portray their creativity and individuality. When a teacher assigns a project that forces a student to do a task that is not appealing to them, they do not put in their best effort and they do not learn anything from it. For example, when a teacher asks their students to read a book and write an essay on it, students will not be inclined to complete it and will put it off until the end of summer. If the project was student-designed, the student could read the book of their choice and show their understanding of it in many ways. They could show off their creativity by creating something no other students has created, they can portray their own liking and not dread doing it like many students do with teacher-designed projects. Teachers should encourage individuality from their students and they can do this by creating student-designed summer projects.
Summer can be about engaging with friends and family and student-designed summer projects promote that. Students can engage with others to work on a project of their own liking. Engaging with other classmates helps with communication skills,leadership skills and other character traits that can help a student develop academically outside of school. Working with other students is not a necessity for summer-designed projects, where working individually has its own pros as mentioned before. This shows the effectiveness of student-designed projects as both methods of learning are both engaging and academic. Teacher-designed projects can also have students work with each other and promote the engagement with other students, however, they do not allow students to use their own liking and interests as freely when working with others. Student-designed summer projects would allow any person to work with anyone based off their interests which would most effectively help their learning experience.
Learning is meant to be engaging and interesting and student-designed projects encourages this type of learning. With student-designed summer projects, the topics that can be discussed and learned about are endless. The student has the wide range of topics they can learn about and portray their learning in a creative way so that it is an engaging and interesting experience for the student. Depending on the subject, the student can use his hobbies to create something that appeals to their interests so that they're using this experience to actually learn in an academic manner. Teacher-designed summer projects are usually limited to a small range of possibilities in terms of topics where the student is forced to learn about something unappealing which makes the learning expirecne ineffective for the students, where as student-designed projects let the students use their own interests to create a topic in which they think will most effectively complete the project
During summer break, students tend to take their mind off of academics and they forget about most of the things they learned about in the year prior. Summer projects help students engage with academics during the long break so that they are ready to come back to school once the time comes. Summer projects can be tedious for students because of the way that they are designed by teachers. Student-designed projects take away the forced work that teachers put upon their students and create an enjoyable yet effective learning experience. Student-designed summer projects can help students engage with classmates, encourage creativity and individuality and creates a wide range of discusable topics. Student-designed projects make the summer expirecne a more enjoyable time by letting the students create a project based on their own experiences and liking and not forcing them to complete tedious tasks. | 6 | 743 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
B915519F4D28 | The thought of summer brings out joyous feelings; people usually think of summer as vacations, time to hang out with friends, explore new hobbies, relax, etc. When students are asked to describe summer, one of the last things they would describe it as is a time to do school projects since most students actually picture it as a break from stressful schoolwork. School is the last thing on their mind throughout summer, which could cause students to put off their projects to the side to do last minute and think of it as a chore, rather than something that is enjoyable or fun to complete. However, this image can be changed and summer projects can be turned into something that students are motivated to do. If summer projects were student-designed rather than teacher-designed, it could be more catered to what students' interests and likes, students could be more motivated to complete them, and they would be less likely to procrastinate on them.
Student-designed summer projects would have more of what students want since it would be more catered to what they like. Students know each others' needs and what they enjoy--they can agree on what could be considered a fun project and what they consider to be stress-inducing project. With student-designed summer projects, more of a students' likes would be covered, which means it would be more enjoyable for them to work on it over the summer. With more of their interests in a project and with a project they deem as fun--or any type of work at all--students would be more likely to spend more time and energy on it. With teacher-designed summer projects, less interests could be covered, leading to students not putting as much into it as they would if it was student-designed. With student-designed summer projects, these would appeal more to them than a teacher-designed project would, because, as aforementioned, students know what students want to see in projects. When summer projects are student-designed instead of teacher-designed, it would be more catered to what they want and with their interests--which can bring many great benefits to students while working on them.
With more summer projects catered to students, students would be more motivated to complete these projects. They would be eager to work on these projects. Teachers do not understand what students want since they are from different generations, they do not know the current trends or hobbies that they enjoy as much as a student would know. When these projects are designed from people their own age, they know what each other usually like or enjoy. Their interests being addressed would give them a motivation to complete these summer projects, and not only that, but they would genuinely enjoy doing them and most likely want to do them. With motivation, students are able to produce better work. When people are less motivated to complete assignments, they usually put it off to the side or are not able to work as efficiently on it. When students are given projects that they genuinely like, they would stay on track and possibly even go out of their way to go above and beyond from what is asked of them and try and learn more about it on their own. Motivation can boost students to do better, so when summer projects appeal to them more, they would be more motivated to learn more and improve.
Procrastination is a common theme throughout students, but can be helped if they are assigned something they like to do. With student-designed projects, since students would be more motivated and have more of their interests in them, which would lead them to be less likely to procrastinate. With teacher-designed projects, they would be more likely to procrastinate since it might not cover things that a student wants to see as much as a student-designed project. That could lead to the student retaining less knowledge and learning less from the project, which is the opposite of what it is intended to do. When students do not procrastinate and leave it last minute, they are able to spend more time on a project and learn more from it. They would not view these projects as a chore or as something that they have to get done before summer ends. Not only that, but they would be able to work more efficiently on it with more time spent. Others might also claim that a teacher-designed project would be more effective than a student-designed one since a teacher could have more experiences than a student and a teacher knows the materials more; however, a student-designed summer project would be formated more familiarly for students. Students know how each other work, and each generation differs from one another. Their projects would cater to their generation more and include things that they like to work on. Also, others could argue that some would still procrastinate and push it off to the side anyways, regardless of it being teacher-designed or student-designed. However, not all solutions can solve a hundred percent of the issue at hand but having student-designed projects could still solve the majority of the problems a teacher-designed project produces. So student-designed projects better address the large issue of procrastination among the youth--more than a teacher-designed project--and help students be able to grasp more of the concepts being taught and learn and retain more from these projects.
In conclusion, a student designed summer project would be the most efficient way for students to be able to continue learning throughout their summer break, and not only that, but have a project that contains their interests which can lead to having motivation to complete them and not procrastinate on. This would be the most efficient way since it is catered to what they want since students know what each other want best. The image of summer being fun would continue to exist and these summer projects would be enjoyable to complete and look forward to. | 6 | 988 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
04EB912FE84F | As a child, I, as well as most others, desperately counted the days until summer break. In the classroom, we had a bright, beach themed poster board with the school days remaining plastered in big, bold letters in the middle. On my sports teams, we always had fun and easy practices during the last week of school. I always looked forward to summer, especially when everyone else was so enthusiastic about it. However, this changed as I got older when I was introduced to summer assignments. They felt like the exact opposite of summer. They were boring and restrictive, so I always procrastinated doing them until the very end. Today, many school systems are looking to implement summer projects, as they can help tackle the lost and wasted time during the summer. Simultaneously, it is important that schools don't impose overly restrictive projects that take away what it means to be on summer break. One solution to this is to implement student-designed projects. These allow students to create what they want their summer project to be. Although many may say teacher-designed summer projects better preserve the students' learning, student-designed projects are overall superior because they give more freedom, creativity, and flexibility for the students during their summer break.
Student-designed summer projects are a phenomenal chance to give students more freedom and let them be creative. In school, students have very few opportunities to express their creativity, so summer break is seen by many as a chance to break away from overly structured school days. Forcing students to follow a teacher-designed project will only remove its specialty, and further limit chances students have to be creative. On the other hand, student-designed projects could be the spark needed by some to make use of their summer. Additionally, if students feel the teacher-designed projects were too restrictive, there is a chance they would put as little effort into them as possible, or forgo them entirely. If this happens, it is a waste of time for both the student and the teacher. In my own experience, I have seen that most summer assignments had very little or no impact on my grade, so it often made far more sense not to do them. However, when teachers did try to tie these assignments to a grade, lots of students and parents complained. Whereas, when students are able to design a project about something they are passionate about, this is far less likely to happen, and could even lead to further interest about that topic.
Another important aspect of summer projects is the various time restraints every student has. Students may have sports, vacations, jobs, and many other activities. Designing a project which accommodates everyone's complex and ever-changing needs can be impossible. By allowing students to design the project, much of this problem is eliminated. They know the time they have better than anyone else, so they can design a project which fits far better to their own schedule. If students were able to design their own projects, they could even tie it into the activities they're already doing. This way, they're able to gain the benefits of a summer project, while not having to change much about their summer. Not having enough time is another reason why some students may not do their summer project, but can have other, additional, consequences. With a teacher-designed project, if students don't have the time to complete it, they may look towards cheating off of others, since everyone is following the same project. This not only negates any benefits of a summer project, but can also lead to some downsides. If a student cheats on a summer project because they didn't have the time to do it, they may feel encouraged to cheat again in the future, even if they wouldn't have otherwise. With a student-designed project, cheating is much less of a problem. Not only are there far fewer reasons to cheat, but it's much harder to as well, since every student has their own project, they can't simply copy off of what someone else has done.
Many people may say that teacher-designed projects would be far better to maintain students' learning and allow them to learn new things, but this is untrue. It is far easier for students to learn new things if it's about a topic they're interested about; whereas, students may not absorb any knowledge about a topic they have no interest in. Even if student-designed projects were worse for learning, their other benefits still outweigh their downsides. Student-designed projects are a great way to develop creativity, and they let students with naturally high creativity use it, which they aren't given many chances to in school. Student-designed projects are also much better for students' time constraints, which will encourage more students to do the project.
As more school systems begin to adopt summer projects, it is crucial that these projects are student-designed. Summer projects are important to build and preserve learning from throughout the year, but are extremely limiting on students freedom, creativity, and flexibility. By giving students the capability to design their own projects, it restores much of what is lost by giving them summer work. Student-designed projects also help to avoid many of the possible downsides of teacher-designed ones. Because of the lack of freedom and the inability to tailor a project to everyone schedule, teacher-designed projects can often lead to students cheating, or not doing the work at all. By putting students in the driver's seat of their own project, they can find a project that is enjoyable and encourages themselves to do it. By using student-designed projects, schools can obtain the needed balanced between a useful summer and an enjoyable one. | 6 | 944 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
C7FA88E9DF3B | Have you ever been assigned a project that you did not want to work on? This regularly happens to many students, due to a variety of reasons. Although summer projects are slightly different than those assigned during the school year, they cause similar problems. The student might have been lazy, did not have enough time to work on the project, or the topic did not interest them. While schools cannot help much with the former two reasons, they can with the latter reason. Teacher-designed projects can be biased, affecting the student's ability to gain a wide understanding of a topic. Additionally, teachers tend to assign projects on topics that students do not see much importance in, as the topic does not seem to affect the student in any way. For these reasons, summer projects should be student-designed to allow students to be more passionate about the project, be creative, and be more self-reliable.
Student-designed projects allow students to be passionate about the topic they are working on, causing them to work efficiently. When students are assigned teacher-designed projects, they are not usually excited to work on the assignment. Additionally, they do not value it as important, leaving the work until the last minute. For example, in 7th grade, my Life Science class was assigned a project about the deer population in Virginia. Many of the students did not actively work on the project, as they found the topic boring. Because they did not understand the relevance of the topic, the students were not passionate about the project. An independent project assigned in my AP Lang class, however, had a different result. The assignment was to write a research paper on a social issue that interested us. Because students were able to write about an issue that interests them, they actively worked on the project. Being passionate about a project also affects a student's performance in class. For example, because the majority of the class was not passionate about the deer project, they did not do well on it. However, on the AP Lang assignment, the majority of the class did well on related assignments, as they were passionate about the projects they worked on.
Summer projects designed by students allow for creativity. Students are able to express themselves, as they are not restricted by strict guidelines the way they are with teacher-designed projects. Because of this reason, students are more likely to actively work on the project and put in more effort. For example, my AOS biology class was assigned a project to research and present information about a group of proteins. We were allowed to present this information in any way we wanted, allowing for creativity. The majority of the students were very excited to work on the project, as they thought of fun ways to present their information. Some students created songs to relay their information, whereas others made fun videos to do so. A few students even baked cakes to provide information about their proteins. Each student actively worked on their project and put in effort to make sure it was done well. The element of creativity allowed the students to see the assignment as a fun project, rather than as a boring task. Because the majority of the students worked hard on the project, they did well on it. Furthermore, they effectively retained the information they researched, allowing them to do well on the corresponding test.
By allowing projects to be student-designed, schools allow students to develop a sense of self-reliance. This is because the students have to conduct their own research in order to find a topic that interests them, rather than just receive a topic from the teacher. For example, in elementary school, students come up with their own experiments to test, after which they present their findings at the science fair. By doing so, students learn how to depend on themselves to find information. Similarly, sophomores at the Generic_School take a research class. They work on a wide variety of projects that are mostly assigned by teachers, but towards the end of the year, they must come up with an independent research project that they will work on in their junior year. In order to choose their project, students have to conduct extensive research to understand the topic, as their project cannot have been done before. Additionally, they have to continue conducting research in junior year to allow for a wider understanding of the topic. This allows the students to be self-reliant, as they know more about their project than their teacher, who acts as a mentor. Self-reliance is a very important skill that helps people succeed in the community and workplace when they become an adult, so it is important to establish the skill early on.
Some people may believe that allowing students to design their own projects creates more work for teachers, putting stress on them. The teachers cannot have a uniform grading rubric and must have enough background knowledge on each student's topic in order to grade them fairly. However, by allowing summer projects to be student-designed, teachers do not have to come up with a topic themselves. Additionally, they are exposed to a wide variety of projects, allowing them to be more interested in the presented material. This allows teachers to be more likely to grade the projects fairly, as they do not have to repeatedly look at the same information.
In conclusion, self-designed projects allow students to be passionate about the topic, resulting in the creation of better projects. Students can demonstrate their creativity, allowing them to effectively retain the learned information. They also become more self-reliant, which will help them when they get a job. Rather than assigning teacher-designed projects over the summer, schools should assign student-designed projects to stimulate learning, as well as shape students to gain skills that will help them succeed when they become an adult. | 6 | 977 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
5484CC372842 | Summer break is that time of the year where most students look forward to. Many are eager to sit back and relax, or enjoy their time with friends and family. Whatever it is, school is the last thing on their mind. It's the last thing on my mind too. Although that isn't always the case, there is always that one teacher that assigns projects over break. Summer projects are required through some schools to preserve their learning onto the next year. To make it more enjoyable, I believe that these summer projects should at least be student-designed for various reasons.
Summer break is the time where most students proceed to pursue hobbies, enjoy lifes moments, spend time with people that are cared about, and make memorial memories. Over break, students tend to discover their true passions and focus on what drives their interest. With projects being assigned, that can be tough and build a wedge between the situation. If summer projects were to be student-designed however, students can make it more personalized and just have fun with it. I believe making the summer projects more personalized to students, can really ease the stress and make it more enjoyable. Overall, it is summer break. As a student myself, a time where this applied to me was in the summer of my freshman year. My teacher had assigned a summer project where we had to determine the area of different shapes in any form. Art is a huge passion of mine and I wanted to engage more of it into my summer. I decided to paint an abstract painting with a variety of shapes; circles, triangles, squares, you name it. It turned out beautiful, I really enjoyed spending my time on something that was educating and delightful. Engaging learning with enjoyable hobbies can be beneficial for the teachers' satisfactory and the students.
For most people, finding hobbies that are interesting can be challenging. Knowing myself, I need a sense of direction to know what my interests. It takes a bit of courage to try something new and actually enjoy it. Student designed school projects can really help a student find his/her passions and learn something new along the way. An example of this is Generic_Name. When Generic_Name was younger, she stayed in a hostel and went to an all girls catholic school. Although the classes were given to her and the staff controlled her schedule, she found a way to have a passion for computers. Her summer assignment was to find am interest to occupy her for the upcoming summer. She began to observe her fathers work and grew an interest for how computers work. Today, she works in the computer coding world and enjoys every second of it. With enough interest, there is always something new just waiting to be discovered, who knows maybe you'll learn something new on the way. Student designed school projects can help one into discovering a new passion.
Although students might think making school projects student-designed is a good idea, teachers might not agree. Some students could take this their advantage, by making the project as simple and pointless as they want. This could necessarily not reach the teachers standards and question if the student even learned anything at all. Although this could be case, summer projects are indeed just summer projects and should not be taken seriously. Summer should be the time where students can have the choice of doing what they want. If projects are mandatory for teachers, then it can be arranged, but it shouldn't put unnecessary stress on students. Especially during summer break. Teachers should observe how well the student comes up with ideas and how well they execute their projects, it's more exciting that way.
Having being said, student designed projects are better for both the student and the teacher. It allows students to have more freedom and personalize their studies with their occupation. Teachers will also have the chance to determine the students personality and see what the student is like. It shows how bright a student's mind can be and how well their work ethics are. Teachers should give students a chance to show off themselves and appreciate for what they are able to achieve in. It can also be a fun learning experience for many. Not only will these student-designed projects continue their learning throughout break, it will also preserve any sort of creativity a student could withhold. | 6 | 741 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
95B8CF43E670 | Summer projects have become a cultural norm within the school system. These projects have been created and mandated by the teachers. It can be vigorous and also very flexible depending on the teachers idea of what they believe you should do. Summer projects should be student designed because it allows kids to have more freedom, it keeps the students interested in their project, and allows for more flexibility within their project.
Summer projects should be student designed because it allows kids to have more freedom. Generic_Name, a student at Generic_School, completes vigorous sports and extra curricular activities during summer and, also has 5 different classes with summer assignments. Generic_Name has designed a workload that he can complete while leaving free time but, his teachers have designed summer projects that completely wipe out all his free time. Generic_Name should be able to design a summer project that works for his schedule and, should not be told by his teachers what to do on his only long term break from those teachers. Another student, named Generic_Name, wishes to be engaged during her time off but does not want the burden of having her summer break destroyed by teachers who try to maximize their workload during the time off. She wants to be able to create a project that minimizes her time learning but that keeps her engaged during the break so that she is ready to come back. By mandating what students do outside of school limits their freedom during a time where they should be on a break from school; This totally destroys the whole idea of summer being a break and a time to de-stress by constantly stressing students to finish summer projects. Students want freedom during the summer, this is why projects should be student designed.
Also, summer projects should be student designed because it keeps the students interested in their project. A 12th grade student, named Generic_Name, is being told by his teacher that he must read the book, the odyssey, during his summer break but, Generic_Name has no interest in that book what so ever. Students should have the ability to chose which book they read, if any. If a teacher tells a student they must read a novel over summer, they can choose a book that interests them so it makes it easier and, ultimately more fun for the student. A 9th grader, named Generic_Name is required to complete an 100 question math summer packet during her time off. She has AD/HD and struggles to stay focused for long periods of time, especially in things that do not interest her. By allowing her to complete online practice using a math app, it will keep her engaged and will allow her to make sure she is doing these problems correctly. Teachers mandating what students do and how they do it may interest the teacher but, a majority of the time, will bore the student and can actually lead to a regression in their skills. If students can design their own summer project that keeps them interested, it ultimately leads to more participation and effectiveness among students.
Furthermore, Summer projects should be student designed because it allows for more flexibility within their project. For example, Generic_Name, a student athlete, plays on one of the highest ranked women's lacrosse teams in the country, she has practice and workouts during the weekdays and a tournament every single weekend. Generic_Name was assigned a 400 page book to read but can never find the time nor the energy to read that much. By allowing her to chose, for example, an 150 page book, she can find enough time and energy to stay focused, and be able to complete the book. If students are not allowed the ability to design their projects it tends to become more of a pain to the student, rather than help. It tends to stress students more, especially those with vigorous schedules, during a time created for students to take a break. An 11th grade Spanish teacher, Generic_Name, sends out a summer assignment that requires students to go out and use Spanish in the real world. What would be considered to most students as an easy task, some students are not comfortable with this and would rather do book work at home where they feel more comfortable. A one size fits all plan does not work for every student, some need hands on learning, some need to listen to instruction and be taught directly to, and some students need to read and do book work. The idea that one assignment will fit every students needs and allow them to complete it quickly and efficiently will quite frankly never work. This type of flexibility is what students need out of summer projects and, they should be designed by the students.
Summer projects should be student designed because it allows kids to have more freedom, it keeps the students interested in their project, and allows for more flexibility within their project. Every student is a different learner with different advantages and disadvantages and, projects should be made to meet those students needs or they will either not complete it, or complete it while gaining nothing from it. Students know what they need and should not be completely controlled by teachers who think they know whats best for them. The student knows themselves better than anyone else in the world so they should be able to design their own summer projects. | 6 | 900 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
F81D76345F2D | Have you ever wondered, why students stress themselves up during their summer vacations? Why sometimes they refuse to interact with people around them? Well, the reason of this issue is the "teacher-designed projects." Projects are extremely beneficial and they can be in different forms like posters, presentations, models, videos, etc. Projects are very profitable, especially, in the long summer vacations because these introduces new ideas to students. Researching and building a project should both be interesting to students because then students will place their full effort, due to their enthusiasm. However, some schools require students to complete the teacher-designed projects. This means that students have to complete the teacher's-designed projects. What if the project is about the topic which students do not like to study about? Their lack of interest could lead them towards learning nothing about the specific topic. I believe, that schools must require students to complete summer projects of their own preference to assure they continue learning because it can help students in becoming more knowledgeable about the topic and can assist them in achieving their goals.
The primary reason that why students should be allowed to have their own-designed projects is that it helps them to become more knowledgeable about the particular topic. One example of the benefits of student-designed projects is that the topic which interests them more, they are willing to put their 100% effort in researching and understanding about the topic. For instance, a student have interests in researching about the bad effects of ultraviolet rays from the sun on people. The student who enjoys this topic would not only research about the bad effects of these rays on people, but also would be automatically encouraged to go more dense to its roots, such as, effects on aquatic wildlife, atmosphere, etc. Another example of the benefits of student-designed projects is that the students can teach others about what they have learned through their research. Not everyone is aware about the bad effects of ultraviolet rays. So, the student who is already acquainted with this topic can detail the adverse impacts of these rays to his/her youngsters and even elders. Then the society of ours will also be in less danger because if everyone is aware about the adverse effects of these rays, people will be more cautious and apply precautions to stay healthy. Based on this evidence, schools should require students to complete their own-designed project, as it helps them in becoming more knowledgeable.
Another reason of why schools should require students to complete summer projects of their own choice is that it is helpful in achieving their goals through the research about their interests. All the research that the project requires to have, might convey students to think and choose their particular career path. Teenagers often over think about their future jobs and overwhelm themselves. They might consider going into the field about which they are unaware of. This makes them change their minds swiftly, from one career to another. The shifting of minds affects students when they graduate from their schools, and are unclear about their careers. But, the students which have already researched about the jobs for their careers and have made projects on their interests, they become more successful in their lives. This is because, research made them more aware about the positives and negatives of the specific careers. Another example of the benefit of the student-designed project is that the students who already researched their fields for their careers, will have the potential to make their wishes come true. Successful career paths always provide the good amount of salary. Students can use their this capital to buy houses, cars, etc. Based on these proofs, the students through their own designed projects, can choose a career path that suits them well and can fulfill their dreams.
While the above specific examples shows that the schools should require the students to design their own preferred summer projects, one can argue otherwise. Some people might argue that the teachers are more knowledgeable about what the students should be learning about. That without the teacher's directions, the students will get off task. But, what if the teacher assigns the project about Mahatma Gandhi's struggles in his life? Students even if they lack interest in this topic, have to complete the project anyway. Lacking interests in a specific topic also lead students to a stage where they cannot contribute their 100% to their projects because this is what they don't have their interests in. Therefore, from their little amount of effort, they will not be able to obtain good amount of scores. Whereas, if the teachers themselves asks students to complete their own designed projects, students will never hesitate to provide their 100% effort to the project. This is so because, this would be about something they want to study more and research on. The more effort students put into their projects, the more better they score.
In conclusion, I believe that the schools should require the summer projects to be student-designed and not to be teacher-designed because this helps the students to obtain more knowledge about the topic they enjoy.
Student-designed projects captivates more attention of the students to research deeper and deeper. This eventually helps the students to get to know about that topic from its roots. The idea of Student-designed projects also assists students to achieve their goals, which eventually make them successful in their lives. Through much research, a certain field might get more interesting to a student than before. They might end up choosing that career. That is why, I believe that the schools should require students to design their own-designed projects. | 6 | 938 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
C1DA9C882822 | Schools give many projects and homework assignments to assure the student knows the information, and it also gives them a chance to learn something new. Schools give projects during spring break, winter break, and even our longest break during the summer. Many of these projects are made or designed by a teacher, while some have a basic outline and are mostly designed by the students. Projects should be designed mostly by the students, and many agree with this statement as well.
Summer break projects should be mostly designed by the student because this makes the students strengths and weaknesses easier to indicate. This allows the teacher to understand what his/her students need help with. They can guide the student on how to perfect their strengths and improve on their weaknesses. An example of this would be if a student is bad at giving examples in essays. If the student is given an essay on "What was the most impactful battle of WWII" , they have many examples to choose from and many reasons those examples would be chosen. But if the student is given an essay on "Why should video cameras be used" , their mediocre examples will be easier to notice as not as many facts back up the opinions on if cameras should be used or not. Some may say since student-designed essays show the students flaws, their flaws could cause them to get a poor grade. While this is true in some cases, it is better the student's teacher see his/her mistakes now and help them improve on them, rather than before the big test. Although this is indeed one, there are many more examples of why summer projects should be student-designed.
Summer break projects should be mostly designed by the student because this allows more creative freedom and ideas on the essay/project. A student has free range to think of new ideas if they are not put on a metaphorical leash by the teacher. They can explore new ideas which in turn could make their essay much better and even teach the teacher something they never knew before. A satisfactory example of this would be if the teacher assigned an essay where the student could write about whatever they want, but they had to relate it to racism. The student could write about slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and they could even write about hip hop. But if the teacher tells the student to write an essay about " Why we read books" or " Why we eat food" the students will all have similar responses. They will say something along the lines of " We read books for the knowledge and information they give us" or " We eat food because food is a necessity our body needs to function properly". These essays/projects are very linear and do not bring anything creative to the table. A few may say that allowing full creative freedom on essays will cause students to drift away from the central idea of the essay and dive into personal opinion. Of course it is inevitable this will happen to some, good writers will know to not do this and will stay on the topic of their essay, while the writers who went astray will get some help from their teachers on how to improve that.
Summer break projects should be mostly designed by students because this will encourage the student to do better on their essays/projects. Allowing freedom on a project allows the students to try as hard as they possibly can, while if they were given a project on something that disinterests them, they will only do what is required. If a student that is a fan of Lil Uzi Vert(rapper) is given a project on " The Evolution of Classical Music" , they are only going to do the minimum requirements of that project, while if they are given a project on Effect of Old Rap on New Hip Hop" , they will be more interested as it relates to something they hold dear. Some people may say that the students should already be encouraged to do the project since it is an important grade at the beginning of your school year, which is true, but some students need to be motivated in order to want to go the extra mile, and doing a project on one of your favorite artists is the right motivation.
Summer break projects seem to have a negative vibe around them. Not many want to do them, and some think we shouldn't have them, but if we are going to have to do a project over the summer it should be about something e like or something we hold dear. Our families, our friends, our hobbies, our music taste, etc. Doing summer break projects on things that relates to us encourages us to do better, shows our flaws, and gives us freedom to run wild. | 6 | 823 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
9A165155AC0C | Summer Projects for school should be Teacher-designed because it will show students the expectations for the course, helps them learn the specific material that is needed, and keeps students on track. The main part of summer projects is to assure that students continue their learning process. While schools have long breaks at a time, it is difficult to come back and still remember all of the things that was taught before being let out for a long amount of time. Teachers and student both struggle to jump back into the schedule of going to school each day. Many students have a hard time maintaining everything after being a way and not looking at the material for a while. Some schools require students to complete assignments or projects during a long period break to maintain their learning abilities, but if students are not given the right objective, then they are bound to not learn anything. There are many examples on why summer projects should be teacher-designed.
First, students need expectations and requirements for school projects because it shows them what the teacher will be looking for while grading. This can relate back to whenever a teacher is gone for a period of time or is absent for the day and tells the students what is expected of them while the teacher is away. Having expectations and requirements for a project makes sure that the student puts in effort and that the assignment is detailed with the right topics. While students are working on an assignment, and essay, or a project, they do tend to lead their way off topic and start to write about unnecessary details. Having a list or a checklist of things that are expected of each student helps them know what needs to be on it and it is easier to follow.
Most students have said that they prefer checklist and requirements than anything else because it is helpful to check off instructions and make sure that everything that is needed is on the assignment.
Next, having students keep the learning process going during the summer with help their growing minds, but if they are not given the right topics and material then they will be confused and would have not learned a single new thing. With projects, students are suppose to make the assignment talk and discuss a main point of a topic. Teachers usually make projects as specific as possible, if the student was told to do it themselves then it would be easy for them to not go into detail and specifics about anything. In school, most topics have a huge variety of smaller details and information that would not be a main point in assignments and projects. Students would have to follow what the teacher wants to make sure that they do not write down the wrong information. Most of the time, when a teacher designs a project, they usually give a variety of tools and websites to go to if they need more information on something. Those websites and tools will give the specific examples and info on what the topic is based on and it will help the students have a better knowledge of the main point.
Lastly, after focusing on one main topic for a long time, students tend to get bored and not try as hard as they should. Some students have a hard time staying on track while doing something school related on their own, they usually need some guidance to follow and go by. If summer projects were student-designed, the students would not be able to follow what they need to do and would not have any rules to go by. Different students have different ways of learning, some like to do hands on activities or web quests to learn, others just prefer to write down everything that they learn as notes. A teacher-designed project can give different ways of portraying the material. A teacher-designed project will also make students be on time with the assignment. If a teacher assigns a summer project, they will most likely attach when specific things are due at what time, for example: the essay portion will be due in 2 weeks, the rough draft is due in 1 week, the poster with the end result is due the first day of school. Most big projects that take a while to finish will have smaller tasks to finish throughout of period before it is due. Teachers can tell if students are on the right track if they assign things during the process of working on the project.
In other words, having a student designed summer project is not a great idea. If students made the project by themselves, the teacher could become confused while trying to figure out the main topic. Students would not follow any sort of guideline unless a teacher attaches it to the assignment. If the project was not designed by a teacher, then the student making it would not be great with knowing when to put deadlines and they would not be sure with what to put on the project. The summer project will most likely be done much sooner because made it clear when things will be due. If it was made by a student, they will more likely slack off and be lazy with portraying the assignment. A teacher-designed summer project would be the most efficient way to stay on track with deadlines, to know what to talk about or not, and it shows the requirements and expectations that the teacher wants to see. | 6 | 926 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
96B863B0B999 | Summer is a time for student to have a long deserved break from school. During this time, however, some students become unable to no longer retain their knowledge and have to recover prior knowledge starting the next school year. To compensate, some schools assign summer projects for the students to be proactively accomplishing. Whether it be a project that they get to design or a teacher designs for them. The main argument here is "what is better" for the learning experience of the student. A project created and designed by a student over the summer is better than a teacher designed one because the project will be more engaging for the student, the student will have full control, and the student will have easier time learning or their own accord.
A student who designs their own summer project will have a engaging experience with their project. As a student, the ability for a project to be fun to do and still be a good learning experience is number one. Having your own project to do gives you the sense that you know what you're capable of accomplishing. It will be engaging because student will get to interact in their own methods and ways. Learning in this way helps students to retain information and maybe learn about something they may have never thought about. An engaging project made by the students will also give the students a means of commitment to do the project if it is fun to do and is beneficial for them academically. Engagement in a project is the best way for a students to want to be able to drive their passion in learning forward, without the hassle of abiding by the teacher's rules and regulation of the project. Giving students the right to build their own project makes the learning part fun and engaging for the students, which will overall provide them with possibly of better academic achievement and retention.
Students with full control their project will be able to make it a project they will be proud of. Full control means that students will be able to go though the steps of conception, planning/design, making/prototyping, and possibly revision on their own. Giving students the leveraging control, builds the sense that they understand the topic the most and that they should be able to complete the project under their own goals and ideas. This helps to build skills in learning and retaining information taught. With full control, they will also have the necessary time to complete their project on their own without the overlooking burden of a teacher telling them what to do exactly. This removes the unnecessary stress of designing a project to meet someone else's goals and hoping that it will meet their specifications. A student, given this freedom of choice and design, will be able to learn more about something that they enjoy learning about, it makes the overall experience better for them and also builds their design processes to be better efficient and less costly to them. These skills learned from being in full control of a major project can be used in schools and possibly be used later in the workplace or any other setting that puts them under control of a project.
The last argument is that students will have an easier time of learning when they get to make it. Without the teacher being in the way, not only will the student be hopefully, less stressed, but also put them in charge of learning. Being able to self pace yourself, will help to slowly build up information into your mind and retain that information for longer when you may have to use it one day in the near future. Without the regulations of an authoritative teacher, students build projects under their ideas. As long as the project is providing the student with educational content that they will learn from, they will be able to enjoy it, which removes the boring parts of learning about a certain subject and instead, make it fun to learn about and understand. Students building up the knowledge slowly by themselves, will slowly integrate the information into their mind slowly, without overwhelming students with complex research projects or projects dealing with hard to reach goals assigned by the teacher. A student who learns by themselves may be smarter and less worried by the goals of a project than a student who has to follow the rules and regulations word for word from the teacher. Students that get to design the projects themselves will overall have an easier time understanding and learning.
A couple of main arguments that may arise when students get to make their own summer projects is that they may not be learning about what they should be learning about or the project is not regulated enough itself to provide any academic goals. Or, a student may make a project that is overall not fitted for any academic setting. For the most part, if students are just given maybe one or two rules stating that it must be a project that someone can actually obtain information from and that the project is not just a simple little project. Then the need for a teacher to design a project for the students is effectively gone, since they would only have to follow the simple rule of not making it too easy on themselves and make a project that will help them excel academically.
To wrap up, projects under the design of a student will be better than a teacher designed one because the students are better engaged in their own projects, the students will have full control of their project and everything that goes into it, and the students will have an easier time comprehending/learning at their own pace. Schools that assign summer projects know that the real intent is to help keep the students proactive in their studies over the summer break, and these projects are suppose to help them do so. Student designed projects will be a better option for schools since it gives the students choice in their education. And that profound statement, gives students a better chance at starting off the next school year with information ready to be used. | 6 | 1,034 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
22C9D0A8F789 | Summer projects, although tidious and time consuming, are important. They are given to students by teachers to allow the students to retain the knowlege they have previously learned. They might also be given to teach the students new concepts before they enter the new school year. This allows teachers to teach a new concept at a faster pace since the students already taught it to themselves over the break. These project are very common in higher level classes because they require a higher level of understanding. These projects should be student-designed. I think that student-designed projects are a more efficient way for students to learn the required material over the summer break. It gives the students the flexibility that teacher-designed projects don't give. This is because students can design the project to their specific learning style and schedule and it allows the students to explore their creative side.
If students design their own projects they have the ability to cater to their own learning needs. Some students are visual learners. Some benefit from repitition. Each student is vastly different from next. For example, if someone knew that they were a visual learner, they could draw pictures about the topic that they are learning about. They could illustrate a storyboard about a major war or make a cartoon about how to solve a math problem. They would not benefit from making flashcards and memorizing words because their brain deems those tactics boring. When someone's brain recognizes something as fun and enjoyable, it is more awake and ready to work. This also allows the students who don't know the best way that their brain retains information to explore and find what works best for them. This could help students in the long run by making them aware of what tactics they can use to study for tests.
Students, especially high school and college level ones, usually have extremely full schedules. On the days they don't have extracurricular activities, they have work or home responsibilities. The range of what keeps a student busy is enormous. From a part-time job to band practice, students are overwhelmed with endless responsibilies. Allowing students to design their own summer projects gives them the ability to set their own work load. This takes some of the pressure off and still gives them the time to focus on other things in their lives. If a student only has two hours in their day to do school work, they won't design a project that requires them to research a topic for three hours a day and then write about it for two more hours. They will make something that allows them to research a quick topic and write a short paragraph so they can get in their eight hours of sleep.
Schools focus on challenging their students academically and they champion the students who thrive in the athletic department. Schools usually fail to give any attention to the students who excel in being creative and having problem solving skills. Student-designed school projects would allow those students to thrive in making up a unique and efficient way to learn a new concept. It would also be beneficial to the students who struggle in that area, allowing them to practice and explore new ideas. As a student who stuggles in being original and creative, I would be forced to research new ways of learning. It would make me practice thinking outside of the box which is an important skill that can be applied outside of a school setting and in the workplace.
Although student-designed projects allow students to make projects to their specific learning style and schedule and allows the students to explore their creative side, there are also things that teacher-designed projects are more efficient at. Teacher-designed projects make sure that what is needed to be learned, is actually learned. If a student designs their own project based on a broad topic, they may miss key terms or ideas that are essential to understanding the whole topic. When a project is guided by the teacher's instructions, students are less likely to be confused. There is also the chance that a student designs a project so they do not have to do any work. They can make one that requires them to only write their name on a piece of paper. Most projects are already teacher-designed and not many people have trouble understanding them. If students were to start designing their own projects it may leave students confused and unprepared for their class when the school year starts.
I think that teacher-designed projects can be beneficial, but not to every student. Allowing the students to make their own projects makes certain that every student will learn the material in their own style and at their own pace. When teachers design projects, many students don't understand and are left behind. Even though some students may design a project that is incredibly simple, not all students want self-sabatoge like that. Most students understand that summer work can set them up for success during the school year. I think that the pros outweigh the cons on allowing students to design their own summer projects. Student-designed projects allow students to learn by their own style, learn at their own pace, and explore and implement their creative ideas. | 6 | 876 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Two or more races/Other | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
A85730F12092 | For most, summer is filled with unwinding from the stresses of school, traveling to new places, and learning new skills. This break is given to students to relax and reflect on all of their hard work. Summer allows students to find activities that they are passionate about. Summer assignments should be student-designed because this allows students to determine the extent and length, the topic, and the platform the project will take place on. This break in between moving onto the next level of education is meant for students to distress and enjoy life outside of school. Surely, making the summer projects more student-based allows for scholars to continue to learn, while also allowing students to enjoy time off.
An important part of growing as a person and figuring out what career path to go down in the future is exploring possible interests. This break from the school year allows for students to do this outside of school, as well as time given to relax. If the length of the projects assigned over the summer are chosen by teachers, the students could end up with a big work load which takes away from their opportunities. Many students get jobs over the summer to gain work experience before furthering their education after high school. Not only does this help them build their transcript and resume before moving onto a new chapter in life, but it also allows them to figure out what they like do versus what they do not like to do. Students who are overwhelmed with summer projects are more inclined to not get a job or participate in the things they like to do, which defeats the purpose of the break.
Another positive outcome of student-designed projects is students can have a say in what they want to research. If the students are allowed to pick the topic of their projects that have to do with the associated class, they are more likely to have better work and learn more. Again, this break is given to scholars to allow them to enjoy life outside of school. By giving students no say in the topic they are furthering their learning on, they are less inclined to do their best work or even any work at all. Having students pick the topic of their summer assignments would surely make the projects more enjoyable and easier for the students to complete.
Finally, the last component that students should be able to determine for their summer projects is the platform they use to complete the project. Hands-on students prefer to do projects on a poster board, while more tech-savvy students would prefer to use Google slides or Prezi to present their work. Giving students a say in the way they are able to complete their project makes it a lot more enjoyable for them, essentially making it easier to complete. There are many different types of learners like people who prefer to visualize the topic they are learning about or people who would rather hear more on the topic. More visual learners may have better time comprehending the subject of the project if they can add visuals to the projects by hand. Audible learners may want to listen to videos regarding the topic and film a podcast discussing their work to better process the research they have done.
Student-designed projects allow for better learning and understanding of the topic, while still allowing students to enjoy their time off from school. Although, student should have a say in the subject, length, and platform of their summer projects, teachers should also set boundaries for these projects. It would be pointless for students to study a topic not relating to the class at all. Teachers could provide students with a list of subjects to research that they can pick from. There should also be guidelines that pertain to the length of the project because it is unfair if some students work really hard on the summer projects, yet others slack off for the same grade. However, the students should have some say in the amount of work they chose to do. Students should also be given multiple platforms to choose from, but not completely free range. The risk with giving students a free range of platforms is students could use platforms that teachers are not familiar with. Students should be given the choice of the topic, length, and platform concerning their summer assignments with teacher guidelines. It is important to keep students learning, while also letting them participate in the things they are passionate about. | 6 | 755 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
2C6F27E9A710 | Almost everyone who attended school can attest to how boring and tedious summer work can be. Whether it's assigned reading or a project, students often dislike having schoolwork cut into their summertime. However, it is a necessary evil, and although there are compelling arguments for self-directed learning and independent study, the fact remains that it's the teacher's job to know how to help their students learn. Summer work should be designed via a partnership of students and teachers, so that students can learn in ways that interest them and help them grow, and teachers can ensure that the material is taught correctly.
While the intervention of teachers in this process may seem to be too controlling or unnecessary, the fact remains that they have gone through a lengthy process to ensure that they are trained to teach the material as effectively as possible. They go through an extensive process involving obtaining at least a bachelor's degree as an undergraduate student (and in many cases going even further and pursuing post-graduate studies), spending time as a student teacher, obtaining other certifications, and taking part in continuing teacher training throughout their careers. The experience and education that teachers have is simply too much to ignore when considering the development of a student's summer project or curriculum.
Another factor to consider when advocating for students developing their own projects or curriculum is that all students are different. Some may not design their own work with their own best educational interests in mind, and others may not do as well learning via a highly structured summer project or curriculum. Yes, some students are very bright or passionate and will diligently undertake projects and studies on their own, but that is not true for all students. Everyone learns differently, and many people thrive in situations where they have specific guidelines and rules to follow or goals to meet. The wide range of learning and personality types in schools is a major reason why summer projects and curricula should be a collaborative effort between students and teachers. No two students learn the same, so why should they be forced to do the same work?
Although there are many good reasons for students doing projects that were designed by a teacher, it is also important to consider the fact that teachers may simply be out of touch with how their students wish to learn. Student-designed work can be incredibly fulfilling upon completion; the student will have identified an area of study they enjoy, pursued and researched it, and hopefully will have reached a fulfilling conclusion through a project, experiment, or assignment. However, all of this can be accomplished to its fullest potential with the help of an adult. A trusted mentor (such as a teacher), can be an invaluable resource to a young person undertaking a major project on their own.
Much of education deals with absolutes. Standardized testing, graduation requirements, etc., etc. One can go on and on describing all of the things that individuals must do to conform with the school system. All of this is necessary to ensure that all students find success. However, summer work is a wonderful opportunity for a student's individuality to shine through, and with the help of a teacher, they can design work that will be fulfilling and extremely educational. | 6 | 547 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
AE86D4E2867D | It was the summer of 2017. I was sitting at my desk, staring at a packet titled "Algebra 2/ Trigonometry Summer Assignment". I had been staring at that packed for quite a while, debating whether or not I should put it off for another day. I mean, high school seemed pretty daunting enough and this packet only made it seem worse. A ton of questions were running through my head, the loudest of these screaming, "Why do I have to do this packet?" But, I buckled down and got my pencil, eraser, and calculator and began solving through the questions, one by one. Ironically, at the end, I realized how much of a help that summer assignment was. It not only refreshed my memory and knowledge on math, but it helped me prepare for the math class I was going to take freshmen year. Surprisingly enough, it was quite fun as well. All in all, looking back, I realized that learning and keeping your brain fresh over break is important. Summer assignments and summer projects designed by teachers are key for accomplishing this. However, an argument presented stated that these summer projects should be designed by students. Summer projects should be designed by teachers and not students because teachers can construct better stimulating projects, teachers can specifically tailor the project to the students' weak points, and can prevent students from designing their own unnecessary, irrational projects.
Teachers are more highly experienced than students in educating students which leads to better quality projects that stimulate a student's learning. Teachers are trained to educate students and help them achieve academic excellence. To do so, teachers use a variety of methods, one of them being, handing out summer projects. Because teachers do this on a much more frequent basis than students, the quality of a summer project is starkly better than that of a student. Not to mention, the time it would take a student versus a teacher to design a project. With the experience and maturity as a teacher, the easier and faster a teacher can come up with a quality summer project. It would be like the difference between a well-seasoned actor or actress versus a rookie delivering a message across the scene to the audience through their acting. Obviously, the well-seasoned, mature actor or actress will have more depth and quality in his or her acting. In the same way, because teachers are so experienced in this field, teachers would be able to construct in depth, stimulating summer projects while at the same time saving work, time, and errors.
Not only does experience as a teacher work in favor of designing the summer projects, but the relationship between the student and teacher helps the teacher to specifically tailor the project to a student's weak point. Knowing the student from the teacher's perspective involves knowing their weak spots and strong spots. This is exceedingly beneficial because if one class is particularly struggling with one topic, than the teacher can specifically tailor that project to help that class improve and learn more about that subject. Being a student, you do not hold a teacher's critical perspective or knowledge to judge and analyze in where you have your lows and highs. This may work as a blind spot in constructing a project that wouldn't pinpoint the topics you need to better improve on. Shortcomings from being a student play a significant role in why summer projects should be designed by teachers.
Allowing the teacher to design the summer projects also prevents the students from designing too easy, too hard, too weird, or too goofy projects. When you leave an important task, like letting the students make their own project, it can lead to some projects that are not geared toward learning and retaining information, but geared toward having fun or not meeting academic standards. As much as it is important to have fun doing this project, the entire purpose of a project is to learn. It may be argued the other way, in that letting students design their own summer projects should be allowed, since it allows for the students to be creative and go a little out of their box to construct a fun, creative, and learning project. However, taking this route contains too much room for the opportunity to go way out of the box. It allows for students to take advantage of this opportunity and miss out on the opportunity to truly give themselves a learning experience. Although it may encourage creativity, it is better to be safe in giving the students an uniform summer project that meets the expected standards, than to give students the opportunity to design one on their own that might exceed or not even meet the standards for learning.
Teacher-designed projects yield more better and concrete results than student-designed projects because of their professionalism, conciseness in one subject, and intention, which is why summer projects should always be designed by teachers. This way, education among the students can be uniformly preserved and kept fresh over breaks. Education should always be kept to a high standard in which this is accomplished through teachers, the founders and base of the education in America. | 6 | 860 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
9C27DB38BBE9 | It is summer time, the suns hot rays are beaming down on you and there is a nice cool summer breeze that is drifting in the wind. The trees are so green that you almost forget that just a few months ago, they were bare. You can see and hear kids laughing and swimming at the local pools and parks and you can taste the cool ice pop on in our mouth after playing with your friends into the summer night. It is perfect, so perfect that you almost forget about your summer assignment. That dreadful assignment your teacher made up that holds no interest to you and that you have been procrastinating all summer. You know it is important to do, but you struggle because it ruins the fun and excitement of your summer. You wish you could have made your own project up to still get the benefit of learning, but not have to deal with the pain of a boring assignment created by an adult teacher. Summer projects that help students continue to learn during the summer breaks should be student designed and created and not teacher created.
Summer is a time for students to get a break from school. The school year is a hard and busy time for students and throughout the entire year, they never catch a break from assignments and assessments in school. Summer allows for students to take the much needed mind break and reset for the following year. While yes, there is an important meaning behind giving summer assignments, when they resemble school work and involve readings or worksheets, a student does not fully get the break they deserve. Students who are able to design their own projects would have a better desire to want to complete them during their summer. Being able to create their own projects as a student also gives the illusion that it is not school work and they are still on their summer break, not just in school.
In addition to a break from school, students motivation in the summer time drops. School is a good way to keep a student on track and completing their work, but when there is not a teacher or building to keep students going, the motivation their is to complete a task is dropped. School assignments, and summer ones, also tend to refer only to a specific topic which a student might not be interested in which could cause them to not do it or rush it and not do their best work. When a student designs a project, they will want to make it something they will enjoy doing. By giving student that option, it eliminates the fact that the school project is something that they would hate. If a person is interesting in doing something they will spend time on it and plan time to do it.
Not only is not getting a break and having the motivation reasons a student should design their own summer assignment, but also the idea that if a student likes the project they are doing and puts effort into it, it allows the teacher to see what the student is like and how they work. Having this advantage can help a teacher structure their school year to appeal to the students which in turn will help them not only succeed on their summer project but throughout the entire school year. Teachers would also get the opportunity to see what students had designed and did during the summer when they create their own project. It could be argued that a student could take advantage of this and make a super simple project or make a sloppy assignment, however that is the students choice. While this would be an issue, the student would have most likely cheated or not have done a good job on the assignment the teacher would have given so why not let the students who actually care enjoy their project and do it well.
Summer time is a time for play and fun, not to be focused on school work. But we all know that is impossible so instead of spending your summer doing long and boring teacher assigned projects, students should be able to design their own and show off themselves and add to the enjoyment of summer. The summer assignments a students creates would give them the knowlogege while still getting a school break, the motivation and want to complete it, and finally the teacher would get to know the student on a personal level within the first few days of school which is important for the students school year. This is why school summer projects should be student designed. | 6 | 777 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
9BD6C2F5AB5D | Have you ever noticed what an athlete does as they're running during sports? When they run, they pace themselves to be sure they don't run out of energy too quick and that they can maintain their bodies to give it their all near the finish line. Running like an athlete is just the same as doing an assignment over summer break for students. If they are away for too long over break and then they realize they have a project to due in less then a week, they're going to rush the task and it'll be one big mess, just like they were running out of energy. However, having a project over the summer that students can control, will be very beneficial to students that learn in different ways so that they have free will to choose how they learn, it gives them the opportunity to set their own pace, and their tasks won't be too difficult for them not to complete and should be something for them to enjoy.
There are various ways students learn in school. When working in a lab in chemistry, some students like to follow the teacher step by step, meanwhile, others like to have the steps for themselves and work at their own pace. When learning something completely new in math, some students like to ask questions to get a full understanding, or there are some students who do extra work and find out for themselves how it works to get a better understanding. Students have many different ways they have figured out for themselves on how to obtain knowledge. Having a student-designed project for the summer will allow students to choose how they want to learn and continue learning over the break. When given a specific book to read over the summer and having a specific way to complete a project to work on later, most students get upset or frustrated because the book assigned may not be interesting to them or they don't like how they're supposed to do the project. Allowing them to possibly choose their own book or the way they can apply their knowledge will solve this problem, as they won't be agitated as much when they have free will.
Over the break, many students travel with their families, either in or out of their control. It's a little unfair for students who don't have access to materials while they're away from home to be given an assignment that must be due by a certain date, meanwhile, students who are at home have plenty of time to work on it. Student-designed projects will allow them to set their own pace that works for them and their schedule. However, as great as that may sound for students who will be away, it also requires some responsibility. Having an assignment due at a certain date requires a lot of responsibility to make sure you turn it in on time anyway, but having an assignment where students can choose when which certain parts of their project is due requires lots of control to make sure their up to task and up to date with themselves. Sure, this concept of a student-based project could be taken advantage of for those who don't even want to do a project or learn over the summer, but it allows those willing to learn and those responsible enough to unwind a little bit and enjoy themselves over their break like it should be when given the opportunity to pace themselves.
When a student has a problem or a question, most of the time they ask their teacher for help. Over the summer, however, they won't have access to their teachers to ask questions on a project given to them. There may be some ways students can remain in contact with their teachers, but they have their own lives too and want to enjoy their break, just like we do. When a task is too hard for students, some of them give up on even doing the assignment in general. If students don't understand a math problem and they don't have any access to any materials or resources, they will either give up or keep trying until they get tired and don't want to do it anymore. However, if we allow students to pick their own assignments, that issue won't come up. Having students choose their own assignments or what they believe is their best to turn in to show that they have been learning over the break, will be the best option for them. If they can choose their own assignments, they won't get bored easily and not want to do their tasks, or they won't get burnt out or frustrated because the task is too difficult for them. Projects that students can choose what they want to do will encourage them to actually do the project.
Having a teacher-designed project over break creates a lot of problems for students. Whether if it's not being able to complete the assignment because it's too difficult or not having enough time to complete the task, students run into a lot of issues. However, having a project that students can create and that students can control will encourage them to learn and work their own way, work at their own pace without being stressed out, and encourage them to do the assignment without finding it too difficult for them to accomplish. | 6 | 897 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | White | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
51980DE241EE | Summer project assigments should be teacher designed and not designed by students. Most students cannot be trusted to choose a project design that would truly challenge them and help them learn the subject, and teachers are more well equipped to create a project format that is effective and user-friendly.
If summer projects were student designed, the project would be ineffective and students wouldn't learn as much from them as they would if teachers had assigned them. Students cannot be trusted to create something that would be challenging, and therefore a valuable learning eperience. Students would want to create a project that is easy to do and would result in the best grade for themselves, and cannot objectively prioritize their learning experience. If this was how projects were conducted, there would be no point in doing summer projects in the first place because nobody would learn from them. There would also be inconsistencies in the projects that everyone does, if they can create them indiiviually, students would have different assignments from each other and the grading would be biased. If the students had to come to the conclusion of one project designed together, they wouldn't be able to agree on one thing and each indiviual would want different things to be included in the project. In contrast, if things are designed by teachers, everyone gets the same project and it is not made with a bias towards what works better for one student compared to another. Teachers can be objective in their creation of a project so that it challenges everyone in some way. For example, my history teacher often designs projects in very different ways. For one unit, he will have an individual project that focuses on a complex and creative formatting to communciate the information learned in the unit. For the next unit, he will have a group project where people have assigned roles and have to execute specific actions and work together. These projects work well in a way that can only be thought out and executed by a teacher because they challenge students in the actual material of the subject, but also challenge them in their skills of formatting, public speaking, teamwork, and communications, which are valuable skills to learn in their own right. These are extra factors in a project that you woudn't get without the involvement of a teacher.
Teachers are also better at creating projects because they have more experience and knowledge with the concept. It is most likely that students have never had to create a project themselves before, so they wouldn't know where to start, what to include, how it should be graded, etc. Teachers have made many projects as apart of their jobs, and they know the design that tends to be more approachable for students, the material that seems to be the right level of difficulty, and how to grade it so that it is a proper evaluation of the student's abilities. Teachers are also well versed in the subject that they teach and would know the material that is most relevant and important to properly assess a student's understanding on. A student would have no guidance on what parts of the subject they learn is considered to be of highest value, and many projects are based on some of the most difficult concepts in the unit, so that a student is forced to spend more time with the ideas to gain a better understanding. Teachers are the ones who create the tests and quizzes that a student has to take on the material, and with this knowledge they know what students tend to struggle with and what parts of the unit should be focused on for an ideal learning experience.
One could argue that students should create their own projects because they would get better grades on them and it would be easier for them to understand, but this concept has too many factors of bias invovled and a student wouldn't be able to get a comepletely objective learning experience. If we only learned the things we wanted to learn, we would miss out on a lot of valuable skills in life and leanring experiences that help us with other subjects. If a student likes english, they can study literature and progress in that field, but they can only go so far if they only learn english without any teachings in history, math, or science. In the example of only learning literaure, there are many exmaple of historical references, scientific vocabularly, and mathematics in complex literature, and one cannot fully understand these works without a precursory knowledge in the other fields. Thus, projects cannot be student run just towards things they enjoy. Although it would be more enjoyable for the stundet to work on, it wouldn't be as effective educationally and there would be missing parts to the whole concept that need go be addressed.
There's a reason teachers are teachers and students are students. Students need to use their educational experience to focus purely on learning the subject at hand and useful skills for their lives. Teachers are there to help guide us to these goals, and this path is led astray when students start to do the jobs of teachers, and the effective system begins to fall apart. Educational experts are trained to know what they're doing, and it is our job to trust them and learn as much as we can. | 6 | 901 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
B1703E8A7555 | Summer is my favorite time of year. In the United States, schools have a little over two months break from school each year. During this period of time schools usually give students assignments to help them remember all that they have learned during the school year. It is very common for teachers and other staff to design these assignments for schools, including my own school. Although some may believe otherwise, summer projects should be student-designed because it would make it a more engaging and exciting experience for students, and it would help students be more productive over the summer.
Student-designed projects would make summer projects more engaging for students, while still expanding their knowledge. An experience I had with this was after I finished my freshman year in high school. Over the summer I had a ten page assignment for my math class that I had to finish before the first day of school started. This experience was very frustrating because all I could think about at that time was what I was missing out on with all my other summer activities. This assignment was very long and boring for me to do, when it could've been a lot more fun and exciting if students could've brought their own personal intrests and ideas into it. Another example was when my friend Generic_Name had to do an assignment for German class. The teacher asked each of the students to research one aspect of German culture and then make a power point with pictures with what they found. Although this wasn't a summer assignment it shows how assignments can be made more engaging if students can take charge in it. In this instance, Generic_Name was able to research a specific part of German culture she was interested in, and she actually enjoyed taking part in this project. Summer projects have the potential to be very engaging and could even bring in personal interest if they could be student lead.
If students were able to design their own summer assignments it would help them be more productive with their free time. In past years at my school, teachers have assigned specific assignments for the summer, but this last year they had a checklist of some educational activities one could take part in such as: watch a documentary, read a book of choice, go to a museum, and so on. I decided to go to a science museum with my family, where we learned about astronomy, oceanography, meteorology, and much more. This experience was very fun because I got to spend time with my family, but also it helped me learn even more about science, which I already love. It also helped me go outside the house and be productive with my time instead of sitting around and watching TV all day. Another time, some friends of mine told me that they don't even do the assignments until the last few days before school starts. These summer projects are not even helping the students learn if they're just rushing to finish. In this instance, the students were not even being productive with they're time because when they rushed to complete the assignment they could not comprehend what they're writing down. Summer is a time when people don't have too much going on, so it promotes laziness and procrastination, but with an interesting assignment it could bring students off the couch.
Some may disagree and say that teachers should design these summer assignments. Although it is understandable to think this way, this reasoning is flawed because teacher-designed projects don't always connect with the students. One example I have of this was with our summer reading book from last summer, 'Craig and Fred.' This novel was about a marine in Iran who found a dog and brought him back home even though it was against the military rules. I thought the book was very well written, and I appreciated this experience Craig shared with us, but I personally didn't connect with the story because I couldn't relate to the characters in the book and it wasn't a kind of book I usually read. When teachers give these kind of assignments it's hard to relate and have a good experience doing them. Bad feelings toward summer projects could be entirely avoided if students were able to choose their own book or even put in suggestions for them. I've had so many experiences in high school where I just didn't connect with or completely understand an assignment, and has resulted in it being very hard to complete. Some teachers can come up with fun activities for projects, but it would help students overall if they could have input in their projects.
It is important to remember that school is not made to stress students out with all the tests and assignments teachers give them, it is to help students learn all about the world and prepare us for real life. In the past teachers have planned out these projects for the summer, but I believe in the future that should change because it can help students see how things they've learned in school work in the outside world. So teachers, let students take charge for once! | 6 | 863 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
E1B7A48B5872 | Some schools require that students complete a project over the summer break between school years. These projects are designed to ensure that the students are still learning and keeping their minds active during the long summer break. Many questions are being asked about these summer projects as more and more schools being to require them. Although, the question at hand when it come to these summer projects is who the projects should be designed by, the students or the teachers. The teachers designing the projects is the obviously better choice. When the projects are designed by the teachers, students are able to understand what to expect from their teachers of the upcoming school year, as well as to help encourage the learning process for students, even over their summer break. Teacher designed projects would not hinder, or inhibit, the process of learning, as they would if the students were to design them instead.
Teachers understand how to encourage the learning process much better than students. Some teachers may not be as experienced as other teachers, but they all are still required to achieve a college degree in teaching. While getting this degree, future teachers learn deeply about the proper ways to encourage students to learn, even if it is over the summer. Students may argue that they understand the ways their brains work and how they learn, but there are many things that they have yet to learn due to young age and inexperience. Teachers know much more than students about how the brain reacts to new information and ways to encourage the absorption of that information. Encouraging the students to learn over the summer keeps their minds active, rather than dormant. This then helps students understand the subjects they are to have in the next school year exponentially more than when students design the projects. Teachers are more developed and experienced in the subject they teach than the students they teach are. It is why they are now the teacher, and no longer the student.
When the projects are designed by the teacher, students understand what to expect from their future teachers once returning to school again. This process also helps students get a head start on the next school year, making it easier on the students as they will know a small amount about the subject they are to learn before the class even begins. This also helps the teachers because the students will be able to grasp the subject more smoothly, so teachers are not as frustrated in trying to teach the students in the beginning of the school year. When the students minds are kept active over the summer, they do not lose the information given to them from the previous school year as easily. This helps students in the beginning of the school year because then they are not just violently thrown back into the learning process of school. Doing so just shocks their brains, and not in a pleasant way. It's the equivalent of throwing a small child into a freezing cold pool on a hot summer day. By doing this, students easily get frustrated with their studies, and it takes them much longer to be able to absorb the information they are given in the beginning of the school year. But, being given a project over the summer allows their minds to slowly get back into the learning process of school once again, making it much easier to grasp subjects and absorb the information they need.
When students are provided the chance to be able to design their own project, they almost always take the, what we would say is the "easy route." This means that they are more likely to be lazy about the project and design an extremely easy one to be able to complete it quickly and then never think about it again until it is due. This is not the purpose of the idea of summer projects, but this is how students shall treat it as. After all, if one is given the choice between doing something quite easy versus having to put in more work and time to accomplish something a bit more difficult, the average person would choose the easier, more lazy route. So, why would students not do the same? Yes, some students are more focused upon their studies than most, but even then, many, if not all, would choose to do something that is easy that will take little time over something that is more difficult and may take a longer amount of time to complete.
The choice between a teacher designed project and a student designed project is a no-brainer. Teachers create projects that better help the students to be able to learn over the summer and the beginning of the school year. When teachers create the projects students are not thrown into the ocean to sink or swim, at the beginning of the school year. Instead, the students are actually able to learn and comprehend the material given to them. Students are also given a prerequisite for what it is that they shall be learning in the upcoming school year, allowing them to prepare for the subjects that approach them. There will not be a lazy route for the students to travel upon; they will learn and be better prepared with the teacher designed projects than they will be with projects designed by their fellow students. Given the choices, one should always choose a teacher designed project over a student designed project as it is obvious that teacher designed projects are the extraordinarily better option. | 6 | 927 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | White | Economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
909404A6C673 | Students are usually on their phones and doing other mindless tasks during summer break, and they don't stimulate their brains. As a result, some schools assign summer projects to ensure that their students learn over the summer and are better prepared for the next school year. These schools debate on assigning teacher-designed projects, which have specific guidelines, or student-designed projects, which allow for more creative freedom. These summer projects should be student-designed because students would be able to personalize their projects, the projects would be more enjoyable, and the students would put in more effort into their products.
With student-designed projects, students are able to express their own creative styles. For example, in an interior design class, the summer project could be to design the students' dream house. One student may excel in drawing, so they could draw their dream house. Another student may excel in graphic design, so they could create a three-dimensional model of their dream house on a computer. Lastly, another student may like Legos, so they could build their dream house out of Legos. On the other hand, teacher-designed projects would minimize the creative freedom because they would set specific guidelines on how they want their students to complete it. All in all, students can complete their projects using the unique skills they have with student-designed projects.
Also, students would find the projects more fun if they are able to design it. Summer break is a time for students to have fun. When a teacher designs a project, there are usually set guidelines on how they want the project, which sometimes isn't what students would enjoy. This would make it difficult for students to find the motivation to complete their projects, especially over summer break. On the other hand, with student-designed projects, students would be able to personalize their projects, so they could use their own interests to complete it. When students are able to individualize their projects, they find it more enjoyable to complete since they would include aspects that they enjoy and minimize aspects of the project they could potentially dislike. For example, in the previously mentioned interior design summer project, the student who excels in drawing could dislike using computers. If the teacher had required the dream house to be made on the computer, the drawer could find it difficult to finish the project because they don't enjoy using computers. In contrast, if the drawer was able to design their own project, then they could draw their dream house while having fun.
Lastly, in student-designed projects, students would put more effort into completing their projects. Generally, students put more effort into the subjects that they enjoy. Similarly, if students are able to design their own projects, they would enjoy completing the projects and work harder on them. If the previously mentioned interior design teacher required everyone to build their dream house out of Legos, the student who draws and the student who enjoys graphic design would enjoy the project less and find little motivation to complete it over the summer. As a result, the drawer and graphic designer would put minimal effort into their Lego dream house, for they may just build a house with little detail and minimal unique thinking. On the other hand, if the dream house project was a student-designed project, the students would put a lot of effort into creating their dream house since they are able to design it with the skills that they have and enjoy using.
Some may argue that students could design the summer projects so they require minimum effort since they want to complete their projects as quickly as possible. However, when you give students creative freedom, they are more likely to put in extra effort because they would enjoy their projects more. Schools that require summer projects should assign student-designed projects because students are able to use their unique skills and interests to complete these projects. Additionally, students would have more fun completing these projects since they are allowed to express their own creativeness, which helps motivate the students to complete it during summer break. Lastly, students are more likely to work harder on their projects because they would find their student-designed projects more enjoyable to complete. | 6 | 700 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | F | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
55BD1573CCB6 | The summer assignment is a term that middle school and high school students know all too well. Not all students are assigned a project to complete over the summer, but for those that take higher level classes (a decent portion of modern high school students), there is typically some form of work that they must complete through the summer months that relates to the course they will be taking. It has been argued, though, that summer projects are far too strenuous on students, and that, if the students had the power to synthesize their own assignments to complete through June, July, and August, it may warrant less work and a generally easier time for them. However, summer assignments are better off being designed by the teachers themselves, as teachers are experts in the subject(s) they teach, teachers possess a higher level of skills in creating projects and assignments, and an inadequate project put together by students may lead to an undesired grade in the class, as the students would not be nearly as well prepared.
At the core of every class is the teacher; teachers are masters in their field, and are highly trained to answer whatever query or insight is thrown at them in their class. To put it simply, the teacher is the one who knows the material better than anyone in the room. For example, just about every teacher within the United States must obtain a degree in teaching from a four-year university, as well as extended classes in the subject that they would like to teach. Many teachers do not stop at a four-year degree though, and continue their training through a graduate program. Quite a large part of a teacher's time and life in general becomes dedicated to this training. An extensive amount of effort is exerted by these colleges and schools, as well as the teacher, to instill the subject material into the teacher's head. It is the job of the teacher at this point to relay their extensive knowledge of a subject to the students. Many teachers become knowledgeable because of their background as well; a physics teacher may have a father who is an aeronautical engineer working at NASA, or a science teacher may have a mother who is a biologist at a genetic engineering company. Because of what these teachers have been exposed to through a large portion of their life, they have gained a further understanding of the subject they will teach, and have an open attitude to learning more about it. Teachers become experts of their field, and have the knowledge necessary to assemble a project or assignment to be done over the summer that will prepare the students for the class. A student who is assembling a summer project would never possess nearly as much knowledge as a teacher has of expectations or standards of the class.
With this extended schooling comes not only a further knowledge of the teacher's subject, but an attainment of skills in designing projects and creating assignments. As mentioned above, many teachers obtain four-year degrees in preparation for their careers, but often their degree is not in the subject they teach, but in the actual field of teaching itself. These degrees teach the essential skills necessary to educate students, and one of these skills is creating assignments. Teachers spend extensive amounts of time putting together worksheets and project rubrics, pulling material from numerous sources. What better person is there to assemble a summer project, to prepare you for a class, than someone who has undergone extensive training in putting together projects and assignments? It is important to consider, though, not just training, but experience as well. Every school day, students are assigned some form of an assignment or project to complete to further their understanding of the subject, which in turn means that every school day, there is a teacher behind each one of these assignments, creating them for the students. Teachers spend large amounts of time putting together the right assignments for their students, and with this comes a mastery of the skill. Creating projects for students is one of the core tasks a teacher must do every single day, and it would be quite contradicting of a teacher to free the job of creating a summer assignment for students, to the pupils themselves, who may have never even planned a hangout with friends, or a basic schedule of their day.
As previously mentioned, students are obviously not experienced in the skill of creating an assignment. The common sophomore or junior in high school is anywhere from fifteen to seventeen years old, and has likely never faced a situation in which they had to prepare a curriculum or a rubric for someone to complete that pertains to a specific subject. If they were given the task of compiling an assignment of a subject (that they have not learned and are not extensively knowledgeable about), the outcome would not work in favor of the student. Not only would the project likely be of low quality. but the results reaped by the student from the project may set them up for failure in the class. Another important perspective to consider is the work ethic of students, or lack thereof. High school students are not disciplined enough to sit down and put together a school assignment for themselves that, not to mention, will eat into their time away from school during the summer. This would result in a sloppy project and a deficit in the student's future performance in the class.
Every school throughout the United States, and the world in general, should aim to have strictly teacher-designed summer projects. The prospect of student-designed projects could have disastrous outcomes for the students themselves. When comparing a knowledgeable and well-trained teacher's project with an uncoordinated and inexperienced student's project, the answer should be nothing but obvious. For the sake of the student, and for the sake of common sense, no summer assignment or project should ever be student-designed. | 6 | 997 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | White | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
E48C4A808FB2 | Summer projects are one of the most common forms of ensuring that students continue learning during their long summer break. These projects allow students to keep the information and experience that they learned through their school year throughout the summer. However, though the purpose and need of the summer projects may be valid, they are not interesting and motivating projects for students to complete, and, as such, students tend to procrastinate in completing their projects and learn less from the project thereby defeating its very purpose. The result of such a summer project, is the loss of knowledge gained by students in the past year, bad grades at the start of the new school year, and the unpreparedness of the students to return to school in a higher level class. Due to the fact that teachers are adults who prioritize the imbuement of knowledge into students, they are, at times, unable to make the summer projects they assign motivating to the students thereby resulting in this kind of summer projects. Summer projects should be student-designed because it will prevent the procrastination of students on the projects, allow students to absorb more from the project itself, and make the summer project more appealing for the students to complete.
One of the most important reasons why summer projects must be designed by students is to prevent the procrastination of students in the completion of said project. Due to the fact that summer projects tend to be rigorous and tiring, students tend to avoid completing the project until the very last second, which can result in a poor project, the students being unable to recall the learnings of their past year, and even causing them to be unprepared for the challenges of a higher level course. However, if the summer projects were student-designed, they would make it interesting for other students while including the necessary content under teacher supervision. By doing so, students who have to complete the assignment would be more motivated and interested in completing the summer project and would, therefore, not wait till the last second. Due to the last minute efforts by the students, students may feel the need to copy another person's summer project in order to simply make the deadline that they had forgotten about. This cheating would only lead to the students learning nothing from the project, being unprepared for their new higher level class, and learning to cheat on school work. To mitigate or prevent that situation, summer projects should be student-designed, so students would avoid their procrastination all together. Summer projects should be student-designed in order to prevent the procrastination of students thereby allowing them to fulfill the purpose of their summer project.
Though preventing the procrastination of students on the project is indeed one of the greatest benefits of having summer projects being student-designed, another key benefit of this is for it to allow students to absorb and learn more from the project. Due to the fact that summer projects can be tiring and complicated, students tend to absorb little from their completion besides what they must already know. This leads to students being unprepared for their new classes and also deprived of knowledge that was just before their eyes. By having student-designed summer projects, which will be more appealing to the students, students will try harder and be more invested in their projects, therefore allowing them to gain more from their projects than what they normally would. On normal summer projects, students tend to fill out the project with out actually understanding what they're doing. By having student-designed summer projects, students are more interested in the project and due to that fact, they are more likely to understand more about the concepts behind the project itself. Summer projects should be designed by students in that it will allow students to learn more from the summer projects than what they normally would.
Preventing the procrastination of students in the summer and allowing them to learn more from the summer projects are both important benefits of having student-designed summer projects, however, none of those benefits would even be possible without the fact that student-designed summer projects are much more invigorating to complete than a normal summer project to a student. Students have the unique advantage of understanding what students like and dislike which gives them a enormous advantage when it comes to creating a summer project for other students. This advantage is why more students will be interested in completing their summer projects which lead to them not procrastinating and absorbing more knowledge from the project. Student-designed summer projects will be naturally be more appealing to students because it would be designed to inspire their interests and therefore their concentration and focus.
Summer projects are a way for students to learn and develop even in the summer when there is no school for them to attend. Therefore, these projects are an important part of a student's school year because their purpose is to allow students to keep the information and experience that they have learned through their school year throughout the summer and to prepare them for their next year. However, even though these projects are needed and are useful to many students, are they currently effective in achieving their purpose? In order to achieve their purpose of cultivating students, summer projects should be student-designed because by having students design the projects, it can prevent student procrastination on these projects, allow students to gain more knowledge and understanding from these projects, and also motivate students to complete these projects. By appealing to students's interests and creativity, allowing students to learn more, and preventing their procrastination; to help future students, summer projects should be student-designed. | 6 | 945 | Summer projects | Independent | Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue learning during their break. Should these summer projects be teacher-designed or student-designed? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. | null | M | 11 | No | Asian/Pacific Islander | Not economically disadvantaged | Not identified as having disability |
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