Didactic application of Zeeman’s catastrophe machine: experimental data for competition in statics classes

Abstract

Globally, engineering education aims to prepare the following generation of engineers for successful practice. Preparing student engineers requires transferring knowledge on the development and application of new technologies and the transmission of concepts used to build the physical environments of their societies. Experimental learning in a traditional classroom or laboratory is a prime channel to engage students in hands-on activities to guide controlled observation of facts and analysis. COVID-19, the most significant pandemic of the 21st century, caused educational institutions worldwide to physically shut down in avoidance of mass gatherings of people who may host the virus and continue the spread. Many institutions were forced to rely on a remote-learning model and transition into a hybrid (remote and in-person) model as vaccines became available. Education systems were quickly transformed and, in many ways, underprepared for online education. The pandemic exposed the need to adapt experimental activities to accommodate the online or hybrid engineering learning environment. This case study presents a successful application of an experimental learning challenge, which required students to launch a theoretical investigation, collect data, and compare the theoretical and experimental results in a report reflecting the understanding of the proposed experiment. The study was conducted in a hybrid Statics course, a fundamental discipline of structural analysis within Civil Engineering, using an adaptation of Zeeman's catastrophe machine. A competition among the class was organized to motivate student engagement. The students were to present the solutions of the questions related to Zeeman's machine. The didactic intention of this activity, the original formulation used to obtain the physical and geometrical properties observed on Zeeman's machine, and the combinations of variables that lead to unstable situations are described in this study. Students' reception of the activity, including understanding of questions and results, is included in this study to demonstrate success in experimental learning during remote and hybrid teaching models.