Purpose: An issue that has received limited attention is how teachers make informed decisions when designing learning activities, which makes effective use of resources and technologies. The aim of this paper is to explore how teachers suggest informing their designs for learning. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on documentation from workshops where adult education teachers were encouraged to suggest how a design for learning can draw on what is known, how the design can be evaluated and how the design and lessons learned can be shared. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: Most teachers did not explicitly suggest how to inform their designs for learning, although some suggested to draw on learning theories. The teachers were able to provide many examples of how their designs for learning could be evaluated based on student perceptions and assessment. They primarily suggested to discuss and share their designs and lessons learned at the school. Practical implications: The workshop format could be adapted and used in practice. Originality/value: Relatively little attention has been paid to how teachers inform their designs for learning. A key challenge for teachers is to understand design for learning as an informed practice, which could be integrated as part of their daily work.