Summer projects should be student-designed as long as the teacher is still in control of the overall process. This system engages the students more, while also ensuring that they continue to learn over the break.

As a rule, students are more likely to complete an assignment and enjoy doing so if they have control over the parameters of the assignment. If a student is interested in a certain field of study, they should be able to freely explore and learn about it. Designing their own assignment would allow them to do this. For example, one student might be fascinated with astronomy and another student with biology. Allowing them to create their own projects to study these fields would pique their interest in learning and may also help them understand which career field might suit them best.

However, with a student-designed project, it is possible that the student will "slack off" and design a project that does not truly benefit their learning. For example, a student might design a science experiment that with the research question of "what is the effect of temperature on ice?" Although this question sounds valid, it is not since it is easily answered. Most people already know that ice melts as the temperature increases. Therefore, the student will not have to put in much effort or even conduct the experiment in order to know the outcome.

In order to prevent this from happening, teachers should supervise the designing of these projects. This can be done before the students leave school for the summer or the students can submit project proposals to the teacher over the summer. If teachers do this, they will be able to verify that their students' projects are possible and refine them. Often times, students have good ideas, but do not know how to execute them or are unable to because they do not have the necessary resources. Teachers will also be able to catch the projects that are too "obvious" or easy.

Although student-designed projects can go awry, they can also be very successful if they are created with the guidance of a teacher. Students should be given every opportunity to learn on their own and explore their individual passions.