Leprechauns to Leopards: Newest Addition to DAA Faculty, Mrs. Lowney

Mrs. Ailbhe Lowney was born in Ireland and is a brand new science teacher at DAA. She learned how to be a teacher in Ireland then taught in London and has now found herself in the Dubai sun at DAA.

Why did you choose the profession of science teacher?
I always had the dream to become a teacher one day, but originally I wanted to be an elementary school teacher, until I reached secondary school and fell in love with my science lessons and science in general. I loved the challenge and discovery of science, so when I was in 12th grade I had my mind set on becoming a science teacher.

How do you think DAA has treated you so far?
So far DAA has been wonderful. There is a positive atmosphere and you can tell that the students and teachers are happy to be here. Everyone has been super welcoming and you can definitely feel the “culture of kindness” that people talk about here. In my crew class people were always asking me how my day was, and I think that was really nice and thoughtful of the students.

Of all the different fields of science, which one is your favorite to teach and why?
By far chemistry. I taught chemistry in the UK for A levels and I teach AP Chemistry here. I love how chemistry explains everything around us on a scale we can not even see. Some of the experiments can be very colorful and some could be very practical and useful in the real world. My mother was a chemist who worked in pharmaceuticals so that is how I got into the field.

When you were in school how were your science teachers and did they have an impact on you?
The science teacher I had in my first year in secondary school definitively had a big impact on me. She always tried to do experiments with us often and that really helped break up lessons and taught the class in an interesting way. She encouraged the students to be better and it made me want to improve for myself and her. I believe that some of my teaching strategies reflect off of my teachers since many of them brought objects physically to class since they could not show a picture on a powerpoint like how it is done today. I could show a picture in my classes but I try to physically show my students what it is that I am teaching them because I think it means more.