Professors bring real-world experiences to the classroom

Photo by: Abby Bellow

 

Several departments at Oklahoma Christian University have brought working professionals into the classroom to give students real-world experience.

This semester, a public relations class is taught by adjunct Mike Koehler, the CEO and founder of Smirk New Media. Smirk New Media is a social media firm that creates social media strategies and online content for businesses.

The course, Public Image and Reputation Management, is a junior level class in the communications department.

“This class is unique just because there are not a lot of classes… in all of Oklahoma that are like this,” sophomore Dylan Schouppe said. “It’s strictly social media. While the number of those classes is growing, as of right now it is not that high of a number.”

The class content is not the only unique thing about Koehler’s course.

“He [Koehler] was brought in specifically to teach us because he knows what he is doing,” Schouppe said. “And arguably, in the opinion of Josh Watson, is the best in the state.”

Josh Watson, assistant professor of communications, had connections with Koehler. After discussing the creation of a social media course, Watson brought him in to teach.

“I had a series of interns from Oklahoma Christian, including one who is an employee of ours,” Koehler said. “There had been this sort of pipeline between Smirk and Oklahoma Christian… they needed someone to teach [the class] so I took that opportunity for myself.”

Because of his work with Smirk New Media, he has been able to offer the students a different perspective.

“He has the field experience that makes this more than just any other class,” Schouppe said. “He can talk about what he is actually doing, he can talk about projects he himself is working on, he can incorporate that into the class.”

Koehler plans on offering the students real world experience.

“The project that runs throughout the whole semester is for them to connect with a real client and create a social media strategy,” Koehler said. “It is much more practical than it is theoretical because I am really taking them through the steps. …It is hopefully going to give them a sense of what it looks like in the marketplace.”

This has been Koehler’s first time in a classroom setting as the professor.

“It has been really interesting,” Koehler said. “I have done a ton of public speaking, but not a lot of teaching. There’s been a pretty good back and forth between me and the students about how the platforms get used, especially with college aged students.”

Though this is new territory for Koehler, Schouppe still thinks his teaching skills are up to par.

“He is engaged in what he does,” Schouppe said. “He loves what he does. This isn’t just a job for him, this is his passion. He started this company because it is what he loves.”

The art department has taken a slightly different approach to the adjunct professor. Graphic Design, a junior level class taking communication design students deeper into the workings of good design and advertising, is being taught by a design firm – Finch Creative Group.

“It [the class] is a taste of the advertising world; what we will actually be doing, hopefully, with the communication design degree and just a great look into how a graphic design studio will work in the real world,” senior Miranda Samford said.

Finch is a five-person graphic design agency located in the Plaza District of Oklahoma City. They have created brands, web designs and advertisements for many businesses.

“We are a design firm teaching a class,” Chris Castro, art director at Finch, said. “That feels unique.”

Finch got involved with Oklahoma Christian when Elizabeth Maxwell, an Oklahoma Christian student, interned with the firm. Now graduated, Maxwell works full time at Finch. Michael O’Keefe, professor of art and design, approached the firm about the teaching position.

Besides Castro and Maxwell, the other members of the design team aid in teaching. Each member is able to provide information on their own area of expertise.

“When we turn in our thumbnails we are getting a whole lot more opinions rather than just one person’s,” Samford said.

The firm plans on rotating through the sections of the class based on what each designer typically deals with in their work.

“We are doing this stuff everyday, so are we trying to really teach the kids the things that we have to apply on a day-to-day basis,” Castro said.

Along with teaching the students their craft, Finch is giving the graphic design class the opportunity to revamp the logo for four different non-profit organizations.

“We are getting to work with actual clients, for one, which is super fun,” Samford said. “They’re people that are actually running businesses that are in need of logos and new branding and whatnot and we are getting to actually do that.”

This allows the students to enhance their portfolio and résumé while also learning the process of designing for a client in a team setting.

“We are getting real life clients, real life brands,” Samford said. “We are making things that are possibly going to actually be what these people use to put on their windows, on their websites, on their t-shirts… we are making things that could actually be out there.”

The students are not the only ones enjoying the class.

“It’s a blast; it’s a lot of fun,” Castro said. “I definitely look forward to the Tuesdays and Thursdays that I can be there. I know we all really look forward to it. …It feels like a nice change of pace.”

The school not only brings in adjunct professionals to teach, but employs full-time professors that work part time outside of the classroom.

Andy Harbert, professor of computer engineering, has been a faculty member of Oklahoma Christian for almost 18 years.

“He is a phenomenal teacher,” senior Mitch Aufiero said. “My first class with him freshman year was Programming I. He related it to everyday things… taking technical things and making them really easy to understand.”

Don Leftwich, chair of the department of mathematical computer and information science, is also a long time member of Oklahoma Christian.

“He [Harbert] teaches introductory programming classes… all the classes he teaches… you’re sitting down, writing code, or you’re scripting, telling the computer what to do,” senior Mitch Aufiero said. “He [Leftwich]… teaches very technical classes that were like the different layers of computing.”

Harbert and Leftwich consult at a business called Sky Measure, where they created software to make the company’s work safer and easier.

“The main purpose of the business is to be able to measure a structure, typically a roof, based on satellite or aerial imagery,” Harbert said. “Rather than having to have a person climb around on top of maybe a steep roof, then they can use the software that Don Leftwich and I have created to measure that roof,” Harbert said.

Harbert and Leftwich are able to apply their work at Sky Measure to their work at Oklahoma Christian in a positive way.

“I’ve learned a lot while doing that consulting work,” Harbert said. “There are lots of things that are directly applicable to what students need to learn in a classroom setting. I can relate what we’re learning in [the] classroom setting to what’s going on in the real world in problems… that they might not ever see in school.”

Their students also reap the benefits of their time spent consulting.

“They’re still in the field that they’re teaching about,” Aufiero said. “I feel like that in itself is a big help to them teaching and us learning because they are still in the field working as what we are trying to work to become.”