Is learning best guided by students or teachers? Though it is common for teachers to create and assign almost all work for students, the question gives debate to whether assignments over the summer should be designed by teachers or students. Summer projects are becoming required at some schools as a way to assure students continue learning over their break. With this opportunity to work outside the classroom and in the absence of teacher instruction, can students be trusted to design a project that guides themselves in their own learning? Summer projects should be teacher-designed because teachers have more experience in giving beneficial, adequate assignments, they know the overall performance and understanding of content from students to assign the most suitable project, and teacher-designed assignments create more uniformity among projects which makes grading and assessment of students' knowledge easier.

First of all, summer projects should be teacher-designed because teachers have more experience in giving beneficial, adequate assignments. For example, it is part of a teacher's job to create assignments for students to help them understand material during the school year. They are the experts in subjects that students must comprehend, so they have a much better idea of the kind of work to give for clear understanding of topics. Additionally, they have given numerous assignments throughout their career as a teacher. With this past experience, they know what type of work is most beneficial and enough to satisfy requirements for comprehension. With these skills, teachers would create a summer project that best combines sufficient learning and work. Opponents may argue that students know more about which assignments are best because they have completed so many of them throughout their time in school, so they would be able to design the most beneficial summer project. While it is true that students have worked on several assignments in class, it doesn't mean they have better knowledge on the most effective way to learn material. The teacher does more than just give out papers; they view and grade all students' work, taking note of how well the class does and how to improve. Therefore, they have a more expanded view of what changes need to be made to how topics are taught based on students' performance, and this would aid them in designing the most effective project. All in all, teachers' experience in giving classroom assignments definitely makes them better candidates for creating summer projects, and their knowledge of students' understanding also backs up this claim.

Next, summer projects should be teacher-designed because teachers know the overall performance and understanding of content from students to assign the most suitable project. For instance, teachers spend the whole school year assessing their students in certain subjects. They know how well classes do in certain areas and where they struggle. Therefore, having this data can allow them to assign projects over break that improve target areas and heighten understanding. Also, teachers know the extent to which students have learned particular subjects. With this knowledge, they can design a project that is not too rigorous or filled with too many new, complex topics. Some would argue that students know their own performance and understanding, so they would be able to make a project that accommodates their own knowledge. Though it is true that students know how well they perform on their own, teachers know how well the entire class performs. Therefore, they can create summer projects that accommodate everyone's understanding. Teachers can find what areas everyone needs improvement on and skills that all students have mastered to find the best fit. In this case, collective understanding is better than individual understanding. In sum, teachers' knowledge of students' performance and comprehension would make them better designers of summer projects, and uniformity among students' work is another key benefit that supports the claim of teacher-designed projects.

Third, summer projects should be teacher-designed because teacher-designed assignments create more uniformity among projects which makes grading and assessment of students' knowledge easier. For example, teachers generally create one assignment that everyone completes. In this way, all students are practicing with the same information, following the same directions, and producing the same work. When grading, the teacher can spot for gaps in understanding if certain questions are missed or work is shown incorrectly. The same process would be applied to teacher-designed summer projects, with all students following the same guidelines, and the teacher would be able to view strengths and weaknesses in students' understanding much more efficiently. Others may argue that students would not have as much creativity in their projects if they are teacher-designed. While it is true that there are some limitations on creativity, it is much more beneficial for there to be some uniformity in students' summer projects. Each student creating their own unique project makes it harder to assess students' understanding of all required concepts without specific guidelines and instructions. All things considered, the uniformity in teacher-designed assignments makes teachers the preferable option over students in designing summer projects.

In conclusion, teachers' higher level of experience in making assignments, their knowledge of students' understanding, and uniformity in teacher-designed assignments make teachers better picks for designing summer projects. Teachers have a much better understanding of what is best for students to complete in order for comprehension of material. They can see how students perform and create assignments based on what they observe. With these attributes, there's no doubt that teachers are the right choice for designing summer projects.