There is the argument whether student-designed projects or teacher-designed projects during academic breaks are better. When a teacher designs a project, it many times will not be feisable for a student going on a far-away vacation, enjoyable to the student's personal interests, or about what the student would like to study. Projects that students design can indulge into a subject they enjoy. Students learn better when they are studying something they love or relate to more. Simply having to design their own project will insure the student does their best work because they're studying something they love.

Generic_Name was given the oppotunity over her break to write a research paper on anything she wanted to spend the two weeks researching! Since she was at the beach and loved watching the seagulls swoop for cheese poofs and hop around, she wanted to learn more about them and write her paper on them. Generic_Name spent all of the time she devoted to her project outside, under an umbrella, watching the seagulls while she wrote! This allowed her to put in her own first hand observations of the actions of the silly birds! Generic_Name scored a 97 on her paper and she was praised for her first hand acounts of their actions and behaviors. Had she been given a research project designed by a teacher on something else, like Gandi or Italy, she wouldn't have connected with the topic in the same way, and would've been miserable the whole time writing it.

Generic_Name was tasked with bringing back a project ona different culture after his break, but his parents sprung on him they were going on a cruise and he wouldn't be allowed to take his laptop with him. Since the paper was due the day he got back, he had no choice but to spend the days before his trip in his room, on his computer writing to get it all done before he left. He had no time to spend with his friends and had to cancel plans because of this. His teacher, while grading the essay, noted there were many spelling errors and it seemed "very rushed," and ended up giving him only a 73 for the project. Had he been given the oppotunity to design his own project, he would've had more time to enjoy his break and could've worked on it on the cruise, allowing him to keep his plans and spend time with his friends. The poor grade he recieved was just a slap in the face after the stress he'd been under about it.

Generic_Name was tasked by her teacher to write about the process of learning and to gain a new skill over the break, but she had to come up with a schedule on how to learn it, and pick what she wanted to learn. Generic_Name had always wanted to learn the piano, so she picked just that. She did research online about how long it takes to learn the piano, and signed up for an online course. Her goal was to be able to play a simple song by the end of the break. For the project, she tracked her progress in a journal, wrote about why she was learning different skills in the order she was, and how it was helping her understand. Finally, at the end of the break, she recorded herself playing a piece slightly harder than she originally expected, and submitted that with her project. Her teacher was so proud she played the recording for the class and everyone clapped! This student designed project definetly ensured she continued larning, and she ended up finding a new passion because of it; something that likely wouldn't happen if she was simply given a project to complete by her teacher.

Not all students are like Generic_Name though, and some need more structure. Generic_Name was one such student. He was given the topic of writing about an event in history and how it effected the world today, and how its effects have effected his own life. Generic_Name's probelm was that he had no clue how to relate history to his own life, and because of the lack of other guidance on it, he spent a lot of time sitting at his desk, staring at an empty Google Doc. When it came time to submit his project, Generic_Name only had a poorly written introduction and first paragraph. He quickly scribbled out two more, but they were riddled with errors, poor punctuation, and mistypes. He submitted the essay, and when he got back to school, he saw a 49 in red pen with the words "See Me" writen under it. He just needed more stucture and directions. A student designed project was not for Generic_Name.

Teachers who want their students to engage more in their work should give them projects they design themselves. It will really show who's willing to step up to the plate and work hard for the good grade when they have to do more work with fewer guidelines.