Ep77: Darryn Gray, Learning Designer, Educator and Community Builder

Today my guest is Darryn Gray, a learning designer, educator, and community builder based in New Zealand. Darryn brings a wealth of experience from his time as a classroom teacher and school leader, through to his current work in adult learning and professional development. In this episode, we explore Darryn’s reflections on moving between education systems — from traditional Eurocentric approaches to learning, to those grounded in Māori worldviews offering rich possibilities for more relational, reciprocal and inclusive learning design.
Darryn shares his belief that learning is not something done to people, but something created with them. We hear about his early experiences in a brand-new school, surrounded by technology, and how this sparked his lifelong interest in innovation, collaboration, and community. We also talk about his creation of Crackin’ L&D Down Under, a grassroots community for learning professionals navigating change, technology, and the future of work. In our brief chat, we explore the role of AI, the power of facilitation over instruction, and why trust, humility, and conversation might be our most important tools in a time of constant change.
This is a wide-ranging, reflective, and energising conversation. Darryn invites us to rethink what learning could be when we value the contributions that everyone brings.
Links:
https://www.darryngray.co.nz/
Crackin' LnD (Down Under) https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14462967/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darryn-gray-acc-b6b73385/