Maira Samary

Dr. Maira Samary is an Associate Professor of the Practice and Visiting Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at Boston College. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the Universidad de Chile, and an M.Ed. in Education Assessment and Evaluation from Boston College. Her research focuses on Software Engineering Education, Computer Science Education methodologies, Software Processes, Gender Equity in STEM fields, and Collaborative Work dynamics in academic settings.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Universidad de Chile, Chile
• M.S. in Computer Science, Universidad de Chile, Chile
• M.Ed. in Education Assessment and Evaluation, Boston College

Research Interests:

• Software Engineering Pedagogy
• Gender Inclusion in Computing
• Collaborative Learning Environments
• Educational Technology Integration
• Competency-Based Assessment

Her recent work emphasizes fair student group formation, modular mastery learning in CS1, and leveraging AI tools for educational assessment. Over 15 years of research output highlights interdisciplinary approaches to improving STEM education quality and equity.

Notable contributions include systematic literature reviews on software engineering best practices in education and frameworks for evaluating teamwork in capstone projects. Ongoing projects explore LLM applications in placement testing and competency-based accreditation systems.