Managing Value Object and non standard JSON input

scheduled_courses_controller.rb

class Api::ScheduledCoursesController < Api::BaseController

  def create
    @scheduled_course = ScheduledCourse.create!({
      course: get_course,
      location: build_location
    })
    render :create, status: :created
  end

  private

  def get_course
    course_params = params[:course]
    Course.find_by_id(course_params[:id]) unless course_params.nil?
  end

  def build_location
    location_params = params[:location]
    return Location.new({}) if location_params.nil?
    Location.new(location_params)
  end

end