by Michael Mahaffey
Terry Clinefelter is an instructor with the Lemon Construction Science Division of the OU Gibbs College of Architecture, teaching in OU Online’s construction management degree completion program. He also serves as the department head for construction technologies at OSU-OKC. He joined OU in 2019.
How long have you worked for OU?
I’ve been an adjunct instructor with the university in the Lemon Construction Science Division of the OU Gibbs College of Architecture for five years, primarily teaching on-ground, fundamental, hands-on lab coursework.
Tell us a little more about your education, professional background and experience.
I’ve been teaching construction management for 15 years in Oklahoma. About five years ago, we took our first class online. It was a radical transition from an on-ground to an online class. Over those 15 years, I’ve primarily taught nontraditional students, so the online classroom setting works so much better for them. They’re full-time moms, full-time dads, full-time employees and part-time students a lot of times, so it allows us to meet them in a time and place that’s convenient for them.
I grew up in the trades and the construction industry, and you’ll find that with a lot of people in the industry. My father was in the trades. My grandfather was in the industry. It’s something that’s really surrounded me. My wife is a commercial contractor. We have interesting dinner conversations because it’s something you never really get away from!
I worked throughout high school and college, and after college, I worked in the industry. I’m originally from Florida. Since I came to Oklahoma 15 years ago, within the first year, my wife and I bought our first few homes and started remodeling them. We’ll go work on a project, a house or a building, and that’s my definition of fun, actually getting to complete something. In construction, you can start with nothing; by the end of the day, there’s something there. You know what you did.
I’m more of a hands-on person. I love getting out there on the weekend, working with the materials and getting dirty on a project. I’ve been doing that while I have a full-time job and a full-time family, and it really makes me appreciate what my students are going through. I look at what the construction industry has meant for me and my family, and I wouldn’t want to be in any other industry. The construction industry is rewarding in so many ways, financially and spiritually. It’s made up of some of the greatest folks in the world. You can step back and know the impact you’ve had in your community. You get to leave your fingerprints on your community.
As far as education, I have a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida State University. I have a master’s degree in construction science from the University of Florida, and I’m about a year away from finishing my doctoral degree in construction management here at the University of Oklahoma.
What is your favorite thing about being an instructor for OU?
I get to teach those intro classes, so I get them right as they’re coming into the program. They’re excited by the idea that they’re getting into something that they’re going to develop more and more of a passion for. I see this young person come in or this person transitioning from one career pathway to another, and I know what the opportunities are for them. I know what the industry is going to lay out for them, that an education is going to lay out for them, and I get excited for them because I know what they’re going to be doing in three, four, five, seven years.
When those students come back after graduating, I get to see the job titles they have and the stories they have, and they’re still just as excited as the first time I met them all those years ago. It’s the understanding that what I do has a positive impact out there in the industry.
The online construction management program is new. What do you want prospective students to know about why it was created and what they can learn from it?
This is the first semester for the online program. It was created for individuals who can’t be in those traditional classes. I haven’t seen other programs like this, and it really fits a need that’s out there to help feed the construction industry with people looking to take that next step – to provide an educational pathway for individuals who are full-time anything else and a part-time student. It checks a lot of boxes out there.
As we move forward, we want to make sure the program is publicized and marketed so prospective students understand that if you’re in the industry, have come this far and want to go further, here’s a pathway that can help you down that road. We want our students to understand that their courses are going to fit into their lives. Otherwise, they’re not going to avail themselves of them. The students who are in the program now are loving it. If it’s working for them, I think it’s going to work for a lot of others.
I might work for the university, but I’m working for the construction industry. I’m supporting the industry by making sure these young people and these people coming into the industry know as much as they can and do the best job that they can. The entire reason I’m here is to make the industry better.
What is your favorite course to teach?
I enjoy the introduction course, where we talk about the materials, methods and some of the skills and trades required to do the work. We just covered masonry in one of our classes. The masonry trades date back hundreds of years. To see the skill and artistry used to build some of these structures is really amazing. I heard someone describe it as functional art once. You can look at that with a trim carpenter, a mason, someone who’s working a heavy timber project, a welder – these are functional jobs and skill sets, but there’s artistry in all of it. I can’t draw, and I can’t paint, but I can put together some woo and create some stuff that I can step away from and say, “That looks a lot better than I thought it was going to be.”
Is there a student or class that has influenced you or made an impact on your life in any way?
I love being asked to step up my game, so I’m coming into class at the same level as my students. When I’m able to work with nontraditional students, I know the time they’re taking out of their schedule to interact with the class, to do the assignments, and to interact with me is time they could be spending at a job or with family or doing a chore. Knowing that makes me a better instructor because I’m cognizant of that value to them, and I want to respect that. That makes me pick my game up because they’re not just doing it for them. They’re doing it for their family.
What advice do you have for adult students returning to school?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Every faculty member I work with in the online construction management program or at OU’s in-person construction science program is there to support the student. That is what our job is, and we are very passionate about it. We understand there are a lot of things going on in your life, and school is now becoming part of that. If you have a question or need something, reach out and ask. You are not imposing on us in a negative way at all. If you need help, ask for it because that’s what we’re here for.
What is your favorite thing about teaching adults?
They come in with the ability to challenge you with what they’ve seen in the industry and compare that to what you’re teaching them, and if there’s a difference, they want to know why. If you give them the spiel, and they don’t know the answer or they don’t get it, they’re like, “No, let’s do it again.” They’re driven to get that answer, and they want to learn. They’re not just going to take that easy answer. They’re going to be like, “You answered part of my question, but now I want the rest of the answer.” To see them that passionate and that driven to get that answer is enjoyable. If I have a class that’s a mix of traditional and nontraditional students, it’s always a better class because they’re going to bring everyone up. They ask questions for their own reasons, but everyone benefits.
What are the challenges and opportunities that come with teaching courses online?
The hard part is understanding when a class full of students gets a concept or doesn’t. If I’m in a traditional classroom, I can see if they’re engaged – their heads are nodding, and they’re understanding what I’m talking about. Or I can see if their eyes are glazed over, and they’re completely lost. It’s hard to do that in an online setting because you can’t get that initial feedback from the learner. That’s where you need them to be like, “Hey, I didn’t get this.”
We try to make engaging assignments. We had one last week where they were learning about materials – cedar, brick or rock. One of the assignments is for them to go out in their community and find examples of that material being used. The genesis for that was I wanted them to take what they just read in a textbook, take it with them out into the real world and see how it applied in real life to try to make it interactive. I want it to be something where they’re seeing and making those connections out there in the real world.
What kind of experience do you want students to have in your courses?
Ideally, the program is set up for students who have come through a two-year program and find themselves working around or in the construction industry. They might be working for a contractor or subcontractor. They might be working for a material vendor. They might be working for one of the industries that is tangentially tied to the construction industry.
If you have a two-year education, are in industry, are working full-time and want to take that next step, that’s what this program is designed to do. Maybe that job you want has a requirement of a bachelor’s degree, or you want to progress past where your current education has gotten you, but you also need to work full time. There are so many two-year educational programs that give a good understanding of getting into the industry and what the work needs to be, and they get those learners to that level where they’re able to be impactful in their organization.
We want to provide them with a pathway to take that next step. If they’re able to progress up that employment ladder, get that next job or get that pay raise, that’s a success because it’s about making sure what they’re learning in the classroom has a return on investment in their day-to-day lives.
What do you do to encourage students to engage with each other? How important is it that they develop a sense of camaraderie/community with each other?
No matter where you’re at, the construction industry is an industry that is built on relationships. The person you were bidding against for one project might be the person you’re working next to on another project. It’s a very small world out there. After graduating from the program, or after a class, if you’re in the same state or in the same industry, these people are going to be resources you can call on down the road. You’re building that network, which can pay off in ways you never imagined. It could be this individual is working for a company, and they have a job opening, or my company has a job opening, and my classmate was really sharp, and maybe I’ll go talk with them about it. There are a lot of benefits that come from having that community or relationship that can develop in a class.
We do that through discussion boards and commenting or giving feedback on each other’s work. We have live office hours every week where students can call in or Zoom in, and it’s just like you’re sitting in my classroom or my office. We have a conversation about what’s going on in my class and any questions you may have about it.
I told my class last night, “Guys, you paid to be here. Make the most of it. I’m here for you. Make sure you get what you need out of this.” The first time you meet a group of students, everyone is quiet and shy, and no one wants to speak up. But by the third time of having that same class, we’re joking around, having a good time and talking about what we did on the weekend. They’re coming out of their shells, and it’s always enjoyable to see that transformation in them. That builds a sense of community because you understand someone else is in there, too, having the same questions and going through the same stuff. Understanding you’re not the only person going through it is important. If you have that community, you can really rely on each other to help each other through.
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