Day 5: Plan the Solution

From understanding the problem to designing a thoughtful response.

Day 4 asked students to slow down.

Before jumping into solutions, they investigated the problem, examined evidence, considered different perspectives, and began identifying what actually needed to be addressed.

Now comes the moment they've been waiting for.

It's time to start designing.

Day 5 of our 10-Day Recipe is about planning the solution.

But there's an important distinction.

We aren't asking students to simply come up with an idea.

We're asking them to make informed decisions about what they intend to create, why they believe it will work, and how their design responds to the problem they've investigated.

Day 4 helped students understand the problem. Day 5 helps them design with purpose.

The Goal

One question should guide our planning:

How can students use what they've learned to develop a solution that responds to the actual problem?

Students might sketch a design, develop a storyboard, create a blueprint, outline a proposal, or organize the steps needed to produce something meaningful.

The format depends on the challenge.

What matters is that the plan reflects the evidence students gathered, the needs they identified, and the constraints they must consider.

An Idea Isn't Yet a Plan

One of the most common challenges in PBL is helping students move beyond their first idea.

Students are naturally eager to create.

And that's a good thing.

But enthusiasm alone doesn't guarantee a thoughtful solution.

A student might say:

"We should build a model!"

Or:

"Let's make a video!"

Or:

"We could design an invention!"

Those ideas may be promising, but they aren't yet plans.

We need to help students ask:

• Who is this solution intended to help?

• What specific problem does it address?

• What evidence supports our approach?

• What materials, resources, or skills will we need?

• What limitations or constraints must we consider?

• How will we know whether our solution is successful?

These questions move students from simply imagining a product to making purposeful design decisions.

Don't Confuse Planning with Perfection

Day 5 isn't about creating a flawless blueprint.

It's about developing a starting point that students can explain and defend.

Their initial design may change.

In fact, we should expect it to.

The purpose of planning isn't to eliminate uncertainty. It's to make students' thinking visible before they begin building.

A simple sketch with annotations may be enough.

A storyboard with a clear sequence might work.

A short proposal explaining the intended solution could be exactly what students need.

The plan should be detailed enough to guide the work, but flexible enough to improve.

The Teacher's Role: Ask Before You Advise

One of the most valuable things we can do on Day 5 is resist the urge to become the designer.

When students share an idea, we often see the potential problems immediately.

We know which materials might not work.

We recognize a missing step.

We can anticipate a challenge they haven't considered.

But instead of solving those problems for students, we can use questions to strengthen their thinking.

Try asking:

"What evidence from yesterday supports this decision?"

"How does this design address the needs you identified?"

"What might make this difficult to create?"

"Is there another approach worth considering?"

"What will you need to test?"

These conversations help students develop ownership of their decisions.

Of course, teachers still provide explicit instruction, model unfamiliar planning processes, and establish necessary constraints.

The difference is that students remain responsible for the design thinking.

Portrait of a Graduate Connections

Day 5 creates meaningful opportunities for several competencies.

Critical Thinking: Evaluate possible solutions, use evidence, and make decisions within constraints.

Creativity: Generate alternatives and develop original approaches to authentic problems.

Collaboration: Compare ideas, negotiate decisions, and develop shared plans.

Communication: Explain design choices using evidence and clear reasoning.

These competencies aren't additional assignments.

They're part of the work students are already doing.

A Simple Day 5 Recipe

Keep the planning process manageable with four moves.

1. REVISIT

Return to the problem, evidence, needs, and constraints.

What exactly are we trying to solve?

2. GENERATE

Consider possible approaches before selecting one.

What are some ways we might address this problem?

3. PLAN

Create a sketch, blueprint, storyboard, or proposal.

What will we create, and how will it work?

4. JUSTIFY

Explain why the selected approach makes sense.

What evidence supports our design decisions?

That's it.

Students don't need an elaborate planning document.

They need a meaningful plan.

The Small Bite

If you're trying this tomorrow, don't redesign your entire project.

Give students one simple planning tool.

Ask them to sketch their proposed solution and annotate three things:

1. The problem their design addresses.

2. The evidence that supports their approach.

3. One constraint or challenge they must consider.

Then ask:

"Why do you believe this solution is worth trying?"

Have students explain their reasoning before they begin building.

That's Day 5.

Day 1: Launch the Challenge
Day 2: Build Background Knowledge
Day 3: Deepen the Learning
Day 4: Investigate the Problem
Day 5: Plan the Solution

Next, we'll move from the plan to something students can create, examine, and test.

Day 6: Create Prototype.

In TAPAS terms, we've gathered the ingredients, explored the possibilities, and developed our recipe.

Now it's time to start cooking.

But we aren't expecting perfection on the first attempt.

We're creating something we can learn from.

Small bites. Big impact.

Real problems. Real learning. Real impact.