ID Tools & Resources

Challenge AI to Create Better Learning Materials

AI can help instructional designers draft learning plans, eLearning outlines, job aids, scenarios, assessments, scripts, and other learning materials faster. The first output still needs a thoughtful ID review before it becomes something learners use.

This resource is for IDs who want a practical way to push AI drafts beyond polished words. It helps you check whether the draft supports learner action, objective alignment, format fit, realistic practice, useful feedback, accessibility, and plain language.

Back to ID Tools & ResourcesDownload PDFsView session decksSee example prompts
Resource typeAI output review guide, checklist, and companion decks
AudienceInstructional designers, learning designers, trainers, and content creators
FocusPrompting, review questions, accessibility, practice, and alignment
DownloadsFull guide, one-page checklist, and session decks

Downloads

Use the full guide when you want a deeper review process, more prompt examples, and guidance by learning material type. Use the one-page checklist when you need a quick pre-build review before turning an AI draft into something learners will use.

1. How to Challenge AI Outputs to Create Better Learning Materials

A practical guide for using AI as a design partner, not just a content generator. It includes review questions and follow-up prompts for learning plans, eLearning, job aids, Rise interactions, scenarios, assessments, examples, scripts, and practice activities.

Best for: deeper review, prompt refinement, ID coaching, and improving AI-generated drafts before build.

Download full guide PDF

2. Quick Checklist for Reviewing AI-Generated Learning Materials

A one-page checklist for reviewing whether an AI draft is purposeful, objective-aligned, useful, accessible, clear, and ready to move into design or development.

Best for: quick checks, peer review, draft cleanup, and keeping the core questions visible during fast-moving work.

Download checklist PDF

Both resources are PDFs and are meant to be adapted to your own project types, tools, team norms, and review process.

Companion presentation series

I also built a three-session PowerPoint series that turns this guide and checklist into a facilitated learning experience.

The decks help IDs practice the same workflow in a live or team setting: start with learner action, choose the right material type, then review assumptions, plain language, accessibility, and useful revision needs before build.

View session decks

Why challenge the draft?

AI can create content that sounds polished, but polished does not always mean accurate, useful, accessible, or easy to apply.

The goal is not to catch AI making mistakes. The goal is to shape the output into something that helps learners do something meaningful. Before you build, ask whether the draft supports the learner’s real task, decision, behavior, or performance need.

A useful review mindset is: do not ask AI only to create the thing. Ask AI to explain, test, and improve the thing. That extra step helps you catch generic explanations, weak objectives, missing practice, inaccessible interactions, and formats that do not match the need.

What to review before you build

Use these questions to decide whether an AI draft is ready to become a course, job aid, scenario, assessment, checklist, or other learning material.

Learner actionWhat should the learner do, decide, practice, or apply after using this?
ObjectivesAre the objectives observable, measurable, realistic, and connected to performance?
Format fitShould this be a course, job aid, checklist, scenario, practice activity, assessment, or something else?
Practice and feedbackWhere does the learner apply the skill, make a decision, compare examples, or receive useful feedback?
AssumptionsWhat did AI assume about the learners, their context, tools, authority, prior knowledge, language needs, or access needs?
AccessibilityCan learners perceive, navigate, understand, and use the content without relying on one sense or input method?

Suggested workflow

This is a lightweight review flow for IDs who are using AI to draft, revise, or pressure-test learning materials.

  1. Start with the learner action. Define what the learner needs to do, decide, practice, or apply before choosing a format.
  2. Give AI the design frame. Include the audience, learner context, goal, use case, tone, format, accessibility expectations, and constraints.
  3. Ask AI to name assumptions. Look for assumptions about the audience, workplace context, access needs, tools, motivation, language, and prior knowledge.
  4. Review alignment. Check whether every section supports an objective and whether anything should be removed.
  5. Replace passive content. Add decisions, practice, examples, comparisons, feedback, or realistic scenarios where the draft is mostly explaining.
  6. Check accessibility and plain language. Review headings, links, instructions, tables, visuals, captions, transcripts, keyboard access, and cognitive load.
  7. Revise before building. Use AI for another pass, then use your own ID judgment before turning the draft into a course, aid, or activity.

Example prompts to try

These prompts are adapted from the full guide. Text in brackets is meant to be replaced with your own topic, audience, objective, or learning material. Use these before drafting when you need AI to clarify the learning goal, or after drafting when you want to challenge and improve the output.

Clarify the learner performance goal

Act as a principal instructional designer. Based on this topic: [insert topic, learning need, task, skill, or behavior], identify what the learner likely needs to do, decide, practice, or apply. Do not create content yet. First, suggest possible learner performance goals and explain which ones would be most useful to design around.

Challenge the draft

Review this as a principal instructional designer. Do not focus only on whether it sounds polished. Evaluate whether it will help the learner use the information or skill. Identify what is working well, what is too generic, what is too content-heavy, what may be unclear to the learner, what is not connected to learner action, what is not connected to the learning objectives, where the learner needs practice, feedback, examples, or a decision point, what should be removed, what should be rewritten in clearer learner-facing language, what accessibility barriers may exist, what plain language improvements are needed, and what assumptions should be checked. Then provide a revised version.

Check objectives

Act as a principal instructional designer. Based on this learning need, draft observable, measurable, and relevant learning objectives. Audience: [audience]. Learning need: [what learners need to improve or perform]. Context: [where/how they will use this]. Desired outcome: [what learners should be able to do]. Constraints: [time, format, level, tool, accessibility needs, etc.]. Avoid vague verbs like understand, learn, know, appreciate, and be aware of. Use action verbs that can be observed or assessed.

Improve eLearning

Create a scenario-based eLearning module for [audience]. The goal is for learners to [specific performance goal]. Use these learning objectives as the design anchor: [objectives]. Write directly to “you,” the learner. Use plain language. Avoid long explanations unless they prepare the learner to make a decision or take an action. Design for accessibility: do not rely on color, audio, images, drag-and-drop, hover states, or timing alone. Include alternatives where needed.

Improve a job aid

Create a job aid for [audience] who need to [complete task or make decision]. Use these learning objectives or performance goals as the anchor: [objectives/goals]. This should be used during work, not as a course. Make it concise, scannable, accessible, and action-oriented. Use plain language and clear headings. Include only what the learner needs at the moment of use.

Review accessibility and plain language

Review this learning material for accessibility and plain language. Identify anything that could create barriers for learners with visual, auditory, motor, cognitive, language, attention, or learning disabilities. Then revise the content to reduce those barriers.

Accessibility checks

Make accessibility and plain language part of the prompt, not an afterthought.

  • Use clear headings, short sections, direct instructions, and meaningful link text.
  • Do not rely on color, images, audio, dragging, hovering, timing, or mouse-only actions alone.
  • Identify where alt text, captions, transcripts, keyboard access, focus order, or screen reader considerations are needed.
  • Check whether a learner using a screen reader, keyboard, mobile device, magnification, captions, or a text-only alternative can still complete the activity.
  • Reduce cognitive load by chunking information, simplifying instructions, adding examples, or turning long explanations into a checklist.

A note on using these resources

These documents are meant to support better review habits, not create a rigid process. Use the questions that fit your project. Adapt the prompts, checklist language, and review flow to match your audience, team, timeline, tools, and comfort level with AI-supported drafting.

The main question to keep asking is: will this help the learner do something useful?

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