Student Designed vs. Teacher Designed

Imagine you have just got assigned a summer project. You are given the topic of the assignment, but you are free to display your understanding of the material however you please, no guidelines. Would you have any idea what to do or how to even start? Some schools require students to complete summer projects to assure they continue to learn during the break. What schools need to decide is that if these assignments would be more beneficial to students if they were teacher-designed or student-designed. Allowing students to design their own projects is a poor choice. Required summer assignments should be designed by a teacher because it would be the most fair choice for students, they would overall gain a better understanding of the material being taught, and they would be more likely to complete the project.

The first reason why summer projects should be teacher-designed is fairness. Fairness is very important when it comes to determining the quality of a students work. Having students design their own projects makes grading everyone else's work to the same standard very difficult. For example, how does someone compare a written essay to a drawing? How would a teacher give every student fair scores based on how the individual chose to complete the assignment? When the teacher designs the project everyone is given the exact same outline. Every student is expected to answer the same number of questions and put forward the same amount of effort. Teachers being given the right to design the summer assignments would be the most fair decision for everyone involved.

Another reason why teachers should design the summer projects is that students would more likely better understand the material after completion of the assignment. If students were given the freedom to create their own project outline most of them wouldnt be able to answer many questions about the small details of the topic because they did not pay close enough attention. The material did not stick with them. Students typically worry about the ascetic of their project and completion instead of actually retaining the information. However, the purpose of a summer project is to learn new topics and be able to display a full understanding of the information. Teachers designing the summer assignments guarantees the students are exposed to the exact material they need to comprehend to obtain a good grade. The point of school is to learn and use what you have learned in the future. Students have a higher probability to remember the material from a teacher-designed project rather than one they made themselves.

The last reason teacher designed summer projects are more beneficial to students is that, when given a specific outline, the project is more likely to be completed. Answering guided questions or making a simple sideshow presentation are much easier and less time consuming for students rather than creating an entire project from scratch with no specific outline. Allowing students to create their own project could also cause huge amounts of stress. Most students when they become too stressed end up giving up or not putting in their best effort. Teachers giving them an outlined project can prevent this while also showing what the student has learned. Therefore, teacher- deigned projects are most likely to be completed and done well.

Some people believe that students should self-design their projects so they are able to express themselves creativity. Creative expression is important, but that is not the goal of a school assignment. Displaying what was learned is the goal. If students dont learn the material then what is the point of having a project? Teacher-designed projects guarantee that a student will learn something. Summer projects designed by teachers are more beneficial for students because they are fair for all students, result in a better understanding of the material, and are more likely to be completed. So teachers, next time you assign a summer project, please give your students an outline. Keep them away from over stressing and incomplete work in the grade book. Both your students lives and yours will be much simpler for it.