INTRODUCTION
Dr. Leila Ansari Ricci is a Professor in the Mild Moderate Support Needs program of the Department of Special Education and Counseling in the College of Education at Cal State Los Angeles. Dr. Ricci is also the coordinator of the Special Education residency pathway of the Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency (LAUTR) program. Her passion is supporting Cal State LA credential candidates in completing their educator preparation and making a difference in the lives of all children, with and without disabilities.
TEACHING INTERESTS
Dr. Ricci’s teaching interests include teaching reading, the foundations of special education, instructional planning and delivery, collaboration and co-teaching, as well as support and supervision of interns, residents, and traditional credential candidates.
RESEARCH
Dr. Ricci’s research interests focus on teaching reading to children with disabilities, collaboration and co-teaching between general and special education teachers, and supporting novice educators.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
2004 Ph.D., Special Education, UCLA and Cal State LA
1997 M.A., Educational Therapy, Cal State Northridge
1994 B.A., English and Iranian Studies, UCLA
Clear Education Specialist Instruction Credential in Mild Moderate Disabilities
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Ricci, L. A. (2025). Department chair actions to promote anti-racist hiring practices. The Department Chair, 35(3), 6-7.
Ricci, L. A., & French, R. (2023). Aiming for alignment: Faculty and student perspectives on effectively teaching first-generation students. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 6(1), 25-46.
Ricci, L.A., French, R., Persiani, K., & Williams, A. (2022). Gaining a “deeper understanding of the reality of an educator” while co-teaching: Perspectives of graduates of the Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency (LAUTR) program. CCNews: Newsletter of the California Council on Teacher Education, 33(3), 22-29.
Larios, R., Zetlin, A., & Ricci, L. A. (2022). “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!” Alternative certification programs: Interns perspectives about mentorship. Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship, 11(1), 1-25.
Ricci, L. A. (2020). What really works: Learning from master co-teachers. T-Care Newsletter, 9, 6. California State University, Northridge: Center for Teaching and Learning.
Ricci, L. A., Haras, C., & Kelly, K. (2020). Seeing what sticks: Does professional development shape teaching practice for early-career faculty? Journal of Faculty Development, 34(2), 89-94.
Ricci, L. A., Scheier-Dolberg, S. B., & Perkins, B. K. (2020). Transforming triads for inclusion: Understanding frames of reference of special educators, general educators, and administrators engaging in collaboration for inclusion of all learners. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 26(5), 526-539.
Ricci, L. A., & Murawski, W. W. (2019). Mastering co-teaching: Lessons learned from successful co-teachers. CCNews: Newsletter of the California Council on Teacher Education, 30(3), 18-24.
Ricci, L. A., Persiani, K., & Williams, A. (2019). From ‘training wheels for teaching’ to ‘cooking in your mother-in-law’s kitchen’: Highlights and challenges of co-teaching among math, science, and special education teacher candidates and mentors in an urban teacher residency program. International Journal of Whole Schooling, 15(2), 24-52.
Ricci, L. A., Persiani, K., Williams, A., & Ribas, Y. (2019). Preservice general educators using co-teaching models in math and science classrooms of an urban teacher residency programme: Learning inclusive practices in teacher training. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25(4), 517-530.
Murawski, W. W., & Ricci, L. (2019). Co-teaching and UDL: A perfect union. In W. W. Murawski (Ed.), What really works in UDL. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Ricci, L. A., & Fingon, J. (2018). Experiences and perceptions of university students and general and special education teacher preparation faculty engaged in collaboration and co-teaching practices. Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, 20(2). https://dx.doi.org/10.4148/2470-6353.1260
Ricci, L. A., & Osipova, A. (2018). Positives, potential, and preparation: Preservice special educators’ knowledge about teaching reading to children with Down syndrome. Exceptionality Education International, 28(2), 20-32.
Ricci, L. A. (2018). What really works in teaching reading to kids with visual impairments. T-Care Newsletter, 6, 2. California State University, Northridge: Center for Teaching and Learning.
Ricci, L. A., & Fingon, J. C. (2017). Faculty modeling co-teaching and collaboration practices in general education and special education courses in teacher preparation programmes. Athens Journal of Education, 4(4), 351-362.
Williams, A., Ricci, L. A., & Persiani, K. (2017, June). Transforming teacher preparation through the lens of social justice: Challenges and lessons learned from the first five years of the Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency program.CCNews: Newsletter of the California Council on Teacher Education, 28(2), 27-31.
Ricci, L. A., Zetlin, A. G., & Osipova, A. (2017). Preservice special educators’ perceptions of collaboration and co-teaching during university fieldwork: Implications for personnel preparation. Teacher Development, 21(5), 687-703.
Ricci, L. A. (2017). Creating a cadre of capable readers. In W. W. Murawski & K. L. Scott (Eds.), What really works with exceptional learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
Ricci, L. A., Persiani, K., & Williams, A. (2025, January). Leveraging community cultural wealth and community engagement in educator preparation. Presentation at Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, HI.
Ricci, L. A., Williams, A., & Persiani, K. (2025, January). Optimizing educator selection for teacher preparation programs. Presentation at Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, HI.
Ricci, L. A. (2023, January). Department chair actions to promote anti-racism in hiring. Poster at Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, HI.
Persiani, K., Ricci, L., & Williams, A. (2020, February). Math, science, and special education credential candidates and mentors co-teaching in the Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency: Experiences and lessons learned. Presentation at Annual Meeting of American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Atlanta, GA.
Haras, C., Kelly, K., & Ricci, L. (2019, November). Seeing what sticks: A confirmative evaluation of faculty professional development. Presentation at Professional and Organizational Development Network Conference, Pittsburgh, PA.
Ricci, L. A. (2018, November). Transformations in teaching: Faculty discussions of effective teaching practices. Poster at Professional and Organizational Development Network Conference, Portland, OR.
Persiani, K., & Ricci, L. (2018, January). Implementation of co-teaching models in elementary and secondary classrooms. Presentation at Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, HI.
Ricci, L., Persiani, K., & Williams, A. (2018, January). ‘Training wheels for teaching’ and ‘cooking in your mother-in-law’s kitchen’: Co-teaching in a teacher residency. Presentation at Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, HI.
Ricci, L. A., Williams, A., & Persiani, K. (2017, September). Math, science, and special education credential candidates and mentors co-teaching in Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency program: Experiences and lessons learned. Presentation at the Co-Teaching Symposium, Monterey, CA.
Williams, A., Ricci, L., & Persiani, K. (2017, March). Innovative transformation of general and special education teacher preparation: Case study of a TQP-funded residency program. Presentation at Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Tampa, FL.
Ricci, L., Williams, A., & Persiani, K. (2017, January). Highlights and challenges of collaboration and co-teaching in urban teacher residency program preparing special education, math, and science teachers. Presentation at Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, HI.
Ricci, L., Persiani, K., & Williams, A. (2017, January). Using co-teaching to promote differentiation in urban math and science teacher residency classrooms. Poster at Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, HI.
Ricci, L., Fazzi, D., Fingon, J., Persiani, K., & Osipova, A. (2016, October). Co-teaching experiences of higher education faculty: Process and outcomes of college-wide collaborative teaching projects. Presentation at California Council on Teacher Education, San Diego, CA.
Ricci, L., Williams, A., & Persiani, K. (2016, October). Co-teaching in urban teacher residency program: Sharing victories and challenges. Presentation at the National Conference on Co-Teaching, Bloomington, MN.
Kamei-Hannan, C., & Ricci, L. A. (2016, April). Reading connections: Strategies for teaching students with visual impairments. Presentation at the California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Los Angeles, CA.