Vol.:(0123456789) Learning Environments Research https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-021-09364-z 1 3 ORIGINAL PAPER Codesigning learning environments guided by the framework of Universal Design for Learning: a case study Ling Zhang 1  · Haidee A. Jackson 2  · Sohyun Yang 2  · James D. Basham 2  · Cassandra H. Williams 3  · Richard Allen Carter 4 Received: 28 April 2020 / Accepted: 29 March 2021 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2021 Abstract Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is defined as a scientifically-valid instructional framework for guiding the design of learning environments that support all students. The implementation of UDL often requires proactive considerations of learner variability and iterative instructional designs that meet emergent student needs in a learning environ- ment. This article focuses on a case study with a concurrent mixed-methods design that explored how a codesign process involving researchers, an educator, and students evolved to facilitate the implementation of UDL in an elementary classroom. An elementary edu- cator and 25 students participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data collected from observations, interviews, and repeated measurements of student engagement were analyzed to track changes in the educator’s instructional designs, attitudes toward UDL implementation, and student engagement. We identified an improvement in the educator’s UDL-aligned instructional practices and positive attitudes toward using student perception data to inform instructional improvement through the codesign process. Opportunities and challenges with respect to the UDL implementation were discussed. Keywords Case study-mixed methods design · Codesign · Student engagement · Student perception · Universal Design for Learning * Ling Zhang elainezhang-86@ku.edu 1 Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning; Center for Research on Learning, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA 2 School of Education and Human Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA 3 School of Education, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA, USA 4 College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA