Abstract:

The future officers of the Spanish Navy study a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Defense University Center of Marín, attached to University of Vigo. Such degree includes the subject “Theory of Structures and Industrial Constructions” in the fourth academic year. The main objective of this subject is to acquire the basic knowledge for analyzing and designing structural systems typically found in industrial buildings. However, most students do not observe a direct relationship between the contents of this subject and their future professional career, therefore finding it difficult to keep an adequate level of motivation for its study. In order to address such inherent difficulties, the teaching staff has been emphasizing the learning of structural analysis through a practical approach. In particular, the use of interactive physical models has recently been introduced to help students understand the basic behavior of reticular structures, both with articulated and rigid joints. They essentially consist of a set of modular elements which may be transformed into different structural systems through magnetic connections. Thus, they may serve as a qualitative analysis tool to complement the study of abstract concepts such displacements and deformations of structural elements through an intuitive and visual approach.

This article presents the experiences in using such physical models in a laboratory session of the subject “Theory of Structures and Industrial Constructions” at the Defense University Center. It includes a description of the hands-on learning activity, its evaluation methods, the outcomes of a satisfaction survey filled out by the students after completing the activity, as well as the learning performance of the activity from the lecturers’ perspective.

Keywords:

Interactive physical models, mechanical engineering, structural analysis, structures, construction.