text: To begin with, summer projects should be student-designed because it gives students the opportunity to develop research skills. Suppose a teacher assigns a project with specific guidelines and one topic to develop a solution to. This may make the expectations for the student clear-cut, but this type of project learning limits students in what they can explore. With the ability to design your own project, students learn how to research various topics before deciding on the one they will come up with a project to. Not only does this contribute to the development of enhanced research skills among students, but it prepares them for research in the future. In pursuing higher levels of education, it is crucial that students are knowledgeable on how to research about topics efficiently and accurately. Thus, those research skills are developed from student-designed projects and they benefit current and future educational advancement.