Innovative Kauaʻi physics instructor adapts science education with remote labs

A Kauaʻi Community College physics instructor has made science education more accessible than ever with a fully remote, yet still hands-on approach to physics.

Brad Dempsie’s lab courses come to students through the mail—literally. He assembles and ships customized lab kits containing equipment for about 12 experiments, all packaged and checked out as library items.

“We should really call it ‘remote’ learning, as opposed to online learning, because the students are actually doing the labs, using equipment to take measurements,” Dempsie said.

Since 2020, Dempsie has served hundreds of students across the islands with both calculus- and algebra-based physics sequences. This fall, he will be mailing out almost 50 lab kits, with about two-thirds headed to neighbor islands and beyond.

“The simpler the equipment is, the easier the students can grasp the concept,” Dempsie said. “Although remote labs may lack the camaraderie of in-person labs, everyone has to pull their weight and can’t rely on their lab partner to help them pass the class.”

The innovative format began in fall 2020, when Dempsie foresaw the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and redesigned both his lecture and lab classes. That first semester, even students stranded in other countries completed their courses online—labs and all.

Currently, remote physics labs help science students better manage packed academic schedules, according to Dempsie.

“There are a lot of requirements on our science students, and it can be difficult for them to fit all the required classes, especially with the labs, into their schedule,” Dempsie said.

A major benefit is flexibility, compared to having to do the work within a set three-hour time slot.

“Now students can try the lab, and if they do something wrong or have a question, they can come back to it tomorrow and try again,” Dempsie said. “They can do the work at their own pace instead of being rushed.”