© 2013 American Institute of Physics. We describe changes in a physics teacher's pedagogy and cultural awareness that resulted from her students’ involvement in reforming their classroom. For this case study, we examined a veteran high school teacher's semester-long use of CMPLE (the Cogenerative Mediation Process for Learning Environments) in her Modeling Instruction classroom. CMPLE is a formative intervention designed to help students and instructors collaborate to change classroom dynamics, based on how closely the environment matches their learning preferences. Analysis of classroom videos, interviews, and other artifacts indicates that adapting the environment to align with the preferences of that shared culture affected the instructor in complex ways. We will trace her teaching practices and her self-described awareness of the culture of learning, to highlight notable changes. The teacher espoused deeper understanding of her students’ physics learning experience, which she gained from including students in responding to their own individual and collective learning preferences.