Students' perceptions of instruction are important because they direct the learning of students. The fact that teachers have only limited knowledge of these perceptions is likely to threaten the effectiveness of learning, because congruence between interpretations of an instructional intervention is necessary for its optimal use. This study examines participatory design as a strategy for taking student perceptions into account in instructional re/design. Participatory design meetings of groups of teachers and seven co-designing students in a secondary education setting identified changes to improve the regular education process. The results on changes in student perceptions, perceived-desired discrepancy, and teacher-student disagreement showed some improvement for the co-designers but, unexpectedly, limited or even negative effects for the non-co-designing students. Possible causes are discussed. Participatory design seems to have potential for improving education, but further research is needed.Keywords Instructional design Á Participatory design Á Student perspectives How students perceive instruction determines the nature and quality of their learning processes. Instruction does not influence learning directly, but students' perceptions of instruction influence learning and study behavior and eventually learning outcomes (Doyle 1977;Elen and Lowyck 1999;Entwistle and Tait 1990). Additionally, students tend to stick on learning preferences and habits and only use those elements of instruction that are