Welcome to Fall 2023. I’m excited to share that I will be on sabbatical this semester.

During sabbatical, I’ll be working on a project related to happiness. It is inspired by the special topics class that I taught last semester titled Happiness: Media versus Reality [If you haven’t yet, check out the happiness and media class syllabus]. The class was so much fun and its enrollment was over-capacity. It was originally supposed to be a one-time class. But, it went so well that it looks like I will get a chance to teach it every two years. Exciting!

At this time, I have no plans to post any teaching-related blog posts this semester. I swear I will stick with focusing only on my sabbatical (though I am on campus today). You can find past posts and teaching resources via the menu on this blog.

I’ve got a few other ideas for posts, but I’m not sure if this blog is the right place for those ideas or if I need to find a new space for those ideas if I am going to pursuit them.

In the meantime, I’d love to know where you go online or what media you use to learn about happiness or to find a little piece of happiness. Feel free to comment or send me a message on social media. I wish everyone a wonderful semester.

– Matt

Happiness in Higher Education: One Professor’s Thoughts

November 7, 2022 Matthew Kushin Leave a comment

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click a link and make a purchase, I will make a commission. Please read my disclosure for details.

Happiness, the Pandemic, and Higher Education

Happiness. That’s the topic I’ve been thinking most about in the months since I last published a blog post.

Of course, the pandemic forced many of us to think about important issues like work-life balance, meaning, and what we should be spending our time doing. Yes, the pandemic altered personalities. So it is no wonder that it may have altered priorities, too.

The other day, I checked in on Twitter to find a thread by a professor who was expressing signs of burn out. She stated that she no longer felt the joy she once felt in her work. She wanted to find a way to get that back. She is not alone. Like several of you, I have been there. It stinks. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel that way. But I’ve spoken with, read about, or have been exposed to many people who are, directly or indirectly, expressing a desire for more happiness from their lives and their work.

Continue reading Happiness in Higher Education: One Professor’s Thoughts →

Classes, Classroom Activities and Exercises

How I’m Teaching Public Relations with Karen Freberg’s PR Textbook

February 28, 2022 Matthew Kushin Leave a comment

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click a link and make a purchase, I will make a commission. Please read my disclosure for details.

Teaching the Public Relations Class with Freberg’s PR Textbook, Discovering Public Relations

Karen Freberg‘s PR textbook, Discovering Public Relations: An Introduction to Creative and Strategic Practices, has been called a substantial advancement in public relations education (see Gallicano, 2021). It was published in time for the 2020-2021 academic year. But this semester is the first chance I’ve had to incorporate it into my Public Relations class. In the below post, I’ll discuss how I’m incorporating this textbook and share my new Public Relations Principles syllabus.

I had the privileged of writing the ancillary materials for this textbook, including a syllabus, and discussion questions and activities and assignments for each chapter. You can get your hands on those materials from Sage when adopting the textbook. So rather than sharing specific assignments, below I share three ways that I’ve used this textbook to update my class.

Continue reading How I’m Teaching Public Relations with Karen Freberg’s PR Textbook →

Social Media Syllabus

Out for Sabbatical :)

Happiness in Higher Education: One Professor’s Thoughts

Happiness, the Pandemic, and Higher Education

How I’m Teaching Public Relations with Karen Freberg’s PR Textbook

Teaching the Public Relations Class with Freberg’s PR Textbook, Discovering Public Relations

A Social Media Education Blog by Matthew J. Kushin, Ph.D.

Happiness: Media versus Reality Course Overview and Syllabus

I Created a Class About Happiness and the Media

Happiness, the Pandemic, and Higher Education

Teaching the Public Relations Class with Freberg’s PR Textbook, Discovering Public Relations

Teach Social Media now on Kindle Unlimited

Leveraging Technology in Leadership Communication by Carolyn Mae Kim

A Social Media Education Blog by Matthew J. Kushin, Ph.D.

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