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41. “It’s a bit like academic me-time”: Can virtual mini writing retreats contribute to a more joyful, creative, and humane Higher Education?

  • Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou (author)
  • Alison Williams (author)
  • Arriarne Pugh (author)
  • Rossella Sorte (author)
Chapter of: Stories of Hope: Reimagining Education(pp. 493–504)

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Metadata
Title41. “It’s a bit like academic me-time”
SubtitleCan virtual mini writing retreats contribute to a more joyful, creative, and humane Higher Education?
ContributorAspasia Eleni Paltoglou (author)
Alison Williams (author)
Arriarne Pugh (author)
Rossella Sorte (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0462.41
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0462/chapters/10.11647/obp.0462.41
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightAspasia Eleni Paltoglou; Alison Williams; Arriarne Pugh; Rossella Sort;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2025-07-02
Long abstractAcademic writing is often a lonely and challenging activity, but writing retreats can reduce isolation, enhance studying effectiveness, and help foster scholarly communities. While existing literature discusses the effects of face-to-face writing retreats, there has been little evaluation of virtual mini writing retreats, which offer increased accessibility and the potential to embed effective writing habits into everyday academic life. This reflexive chapter, co-authored by two lecturers and two MSc students, explores the experience of participating in nine weekly virtual mini writing retreats, drawing on diary entries as a key reflective tool. The retreats provided a supportive and encouraging environment where staff and students felt empowered to be critical, honest, and creative in their writing. Participants also shared and discussed writing practices and tips, and noted improved focus on their writing even outside of the sessions. In conclusion, brief virtual writing retreats may contribute to a more joyful, creative, and humane academic experience.
Page rangepp. 493–504
Print length12 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Contributors

Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou

(author)
Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr Aspasia Eleni Paltoglou is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Her interests include exploring factors that influence creativity, and she is particularly interested in the interaction between creativity, education, and emotion. She is also keen to explore how we can create communities in online learning and teaching settings, and is considering whether mini online writing retreats and online reflexive writing workshops could contribute to this goal. Another of her interests is how to embed career learning in an effective and creative way within the curriculum for psychology students. She is passionate about science communication, and has written for national publications such Times Higher Education. She is a Member of the Psychologist and Digest Editorial Advisory Committee for the British Psychological Society.

Alison Williams

(author)

Arriarne Pugh

(author)

Rossella Sorte

(author)
Lecturer in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr Rossella Sorte is a licensed psychologist (Italian licence) with a clinical background, with a specialism in children. She is also a Lecturer in Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, with over five years’ experience teaching neurodiversity and the representative lead for Neurodiversity on the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity (ED&I) committee in the School of Psychology, where she works with neurodivergent students to amplify their voices in education. Rossella has an interest in the application of the idea of multiple intelligences to learning and education and works with creative methodologies.

References
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