If 2025 had a soundtrack for education, mine would be one word on repeat: Learning.
Not Artificial Intelligence. Not content. Not technology. Not admin. Learning.
The longer I work in and around classrooms, the more I’m convinced that when things feel chaotic, overwhelming, complex or over-complicated, the way forward is almost always to go back to basics and ask better questions.
Not high-brow questions. Not academic questions
Not “jargon with a lanyard” or “sage on the stage” questions.
Just really good, simple, open questions.
That’s where one of my favourite metaphors comes in…
“Five bums on a rugby goal post”
Someone shared this with me and it pops into my head and I use it almost every day!
Picture this: five little “W”s sitting side by side on top of a rugby post which, of course, is shaped like a giant H.
The five W’s are: Why? What? Who? Where? When?
The H is: How?
There you have it… “Five bums on a rugby goal post.”
It’s witty and it’s simple. Hopefully you too will find it memorable more importantly, useful!
It’s also a brilliant reminder to start our planning with open questions, not answers.
When we take this approach, something shifts. Instead of “covering” a course or teaching to an exam, we start designing learning experiences; fun, accessible, visible and intentional, for the students in front of us.
Starting with the basics: six essential questions for learning design
Let’s use our rugby post to rethink a course, a module or even a single lesson.
Here are six questions to play with:
- What do I want this group to understand, be able to do or feel differently by the end?
- Why does this learning matter for them, now and in their future lives, work or communities?
- Who are the learners in this room (or on this screen) and what do they bring with them, experiences, strengths, worries, needs?
- Where and when will the learning happen? Will it take place in a classroom, workplace, online, blended; once a week, in a block, in bite-sized chunks?
- What approaches will we use, discussion, projects, modelling, practice, reflection? Which theories or strategies are quietly sitting in the background guiding what I do?
- How will we bring it all to life; the technologies we’ll lean on, the ways we’ll make thinking visible, the methods we’ll use to gather evidence of learning, assess learning and the spaces we’ll create for collaboration?
None of these questions mention “finishing the PowerPoint” or “getting through the next 10 chapters”.
They’re about designing learning, not surviving or tick boxing delivery.
From plans to people: designing for all learners
When we ask these questions with learners in mind, Universal Design for Learning starts to show up quite naturally:
- We think about multiple ways of engaging learners; choice, relevance and creating space for a bit of fun.
- We plan multiple ways of representing information in text, image, video, demo, and/or discussion.
- We build in multiple ways for students to express what they know not just one high-stakes exam or one format.
Suddenly, our course is less “here’s my content” and more “here’s our space to learn”.
A quick example: the questions in action
Let’s imagine a short course on Sustainable Design for Transition Year students or FET learners.
- What?
Learners will design a sustainable solution to a real-world problem in their community and be able to explain the thinking behind their choices. - Why?
Climate, cost of living, community wellbeing this isn’t abstract. These topics are important to students and connect directly to their lives, futures and local communities. - Who?
Mixed abilities, different levels of confidence with science, technology and literacy. Some love hands-on work; others prefer research and visuals. - Where & When?
A mix of classroom, school yard/local area, and online workspace over six weeks, with time for exploration, prototyping and reflection. - What ways will they learn?
Short inputs, case studies, group investigation, sketching, building models, peer feedback, mini-pitches. - How will we bring it to life?
Simple tools like phones for photos, Padlet for idea boards, OneNote or Google Docs for shared notes, and a final showcase where learning is visible – not just to the teacher, but to the learners themselves.
No rocket science. Just questions leading to intentional decisions to design learning.
Where does Generative AI fit into all of this?
Now we’re in 2025, there’s another layer to our rugby post:
not just What/Why/Who/Where/When/How?
but also “How might AI support or stretch learning here?”
The key word, as always, is learning.
Not shortcuts. Not outsourcing. Learning.
Here are five ideas for integrating GenAI:
1. Use AI as a brainstorming buddy, not a finished-product machine
Instead of “Design a PowerPoint”, try prompts like:
- Give me three different angles for a project on X for 16–18 year-old students.
- Suggest questions I could research about Y.
Then ask students to critique the suggestions:
What would they keep, adapt or bin? Why?
2. Turn AI into a thinking mirror
Get students to ask an AI tool to explain a concept they’re working on, then respond:
- Do they agree?
- What’s missing?
- How would they explain it better to a first-year student or to a grandparent?
AI gives the draft. The learner does the thinking.
3. Use AI to differentiate, not dilute
Ask a GenAI tool to:
- Generate three versions of an explanation: one with key words, one with a diagram idea and one as a short real-life scenario.
- Offer example questions at different levels of challenge.
Then invite students to choose their starting point or mix and match.
We stay in control of the learning intentions; AI simply helps us offer more pathways in.
4. Make AI part of visible planning, not a secret shortcut
Bring it into the open:
- Show students how you used AI to generate a first draft of a rubric or a list of project ideas.
- Talk through what you changed and why.
This models critical use, not blind trust. It also opens up space for essential questions:
Is this accurate? Is it fair? Is this how we want to work? What did I learn? What could I have done differently?
5. Always come back to the “five bums” questions
Before using AI in an activity, ask yourself:
- What learning am I hoping this will support?
- Why is AI the right tool here and not just a habit or a gimmick?
- Who might be helped or hindered by this approach?
- Where/When will it show up in the learning journey as a hook or at the ideation stage, practice, reflection?
- How will I make sure the student is still the one doing the learning?
- Will this use of AI enhance, support or extend learning?
If we can answer those, we’re generally on the right track.
Bringing it all together to focus on learning
At the end of the day, designing learning isn’t about having the fanciest platform, the shiniest tech tools, the neatest slides or the most detailed rubric.
It’s about standing on the pitch, looking up at that imaginary rugby post and asking:
- What are we here to learn?
- Why does it matter?
- Who is this for?
- Where and when will it make sense for students?
- How will we build an experience that’s fun, accessible, engaging, visible and intentional?
If AI can help us answer those questions better, brilliant.
If it can’t, we leave it on the bench.
Because in the end, whether we’re using sticky notes or chatbots, tablets or textbooks, our job is the same:
Keep the focus on learning. For everyone.
#OneWord2025: Learning.
If you would like to extend you’re questioning, take a leaf out of Toyota’s “5 Why’s” technique. Instead of stopping at the first answer, you simply keep asking why? Or you could extend the other questions usually about five times until you get past the surface and dig deeper to unlock your own creativity. This approach to questioning really pushes creativity and it’s a fab fit for learning design too: Why is this task hard? Why are students stuck here? Why does this activity matter to them? The more we lean into the Whys, the more likely we are to design learning that actually meets learners where they are at.
All the best, @AshEd_PD