We all have a boring class with a slow-moving professor. We shuffle back and forth in our chair, fidgeting with our pen, uneasily fixing our eyes on the clock. We long to learn outside the classroom and to turn the pedagogical routine into something dynamic. Established a year ago, Experiential and Community-Engaged Learning consists of seven Brandeis fellows with "a passion and love for experiential learning" who are working to fill the need for more exciting and experiential classes, according to ExCEL fellow Robyn Blumberg '11.

The ExCEL group is currently building and finding its place within the Brandeis community.

"[Experiential learning is] anything where you are experiencing something other than a lecture hall," Blumberg says.

You sit in a lecture and you don't see anything beyond. We take experiential learning and make it a more powerful tool," elucidated Blumberg.

This ranges from internships and studying abroad to volunteer work to just learning outside of the normal classroom environment.

"It's a more real-world experience; it's bringing the textbook to life," Sadye Sagov '13, an ExCEL fellow, says.

"A lot of this year was used to develop us as a group," Sagov says. "This semester is more about outreach," fellow Aziz Sohail '13 says. "We want it to be a known resource, like the Roosevelt Fellows are."

For some fellows such as Sohail, their passion has come from their own experiential learning outside the classroom.

"For me, it comes naturally because I do studio art, something which is inherently experiential," Sohail explains.

He also emphasized the possibilities for experiential learning when looking beyond academics in his classroom, illustrated by his internship with the Hiatt Career Center.

"I did an internship at Hiatt as an employer-relations intern. It was my job to make databases of our alumni, potential employers and to oversee our strengths and weaknesses."

Sagov also discovered the excitement of experiential learning while participating in an art class titled "Looking with the Learner" with Brandeis Prof. Robin Dash, a lecturer in education.

"For the first 5 weeks of the course, we explored [a] museum," Sagov explains. "We would come in, no lecturing, and we would talk about the art and write about it," Sagov says.

"For the second part of the program, we brought students from Stanley Elementary School [in Waltham], and we would do all kinds of activities with them regarding art. We were students of Robin Dash, but we were also teachers for the kids," she says.

The group of fellows is currently working in tandem with the administration to build and promote experiential learning, and has already collaborated with a handful of administrators, including Dean of Career Services Joseph Du Pont, Director of Community Service Lucas Malo and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Elaine Wong, to develop new, hands-on classes and to incorporate more of them into course selection.

Sohail is currently working with Cindy Cohen, director of Ethics Center Programs in Peacebuilding and the Arts, to develop an experiential learning class that focuses on peacebuilding in the arts.

Some of the ExCEL fellows' current endeavors are raising awareness of the program and educating students about the ExCEL goals during Experiential Learning Week, which began yesterday and will last until March 24.

The theme of the week is centered on the love of experiential learning, and the group is giving out shirts and pins stating "I heart EL" to grab attention.

The group is hosting a variety of events over the week, including a cupcake social yesterday and coffeehouses featuring all kinds of entertainment from improvisation groups to a cappella performances.

This week is meant to build excitement for the EL2 symposium, an event that will feature more than 80 Brandeis students who have taken part in some form of experiential learning.

The symposium, taking place on April 7, will feature both panel and poster components, where students will explain their experiences.

The presentations will be diverse, ranging from experiences that include academia, social service, creative arts and research.

It will also highlight a speech from University President Fredrick Lawrence.

The goal of the symposium is to educate participants about the presenter's experiences and to encourage participants to make experiential learning part of their own lives and memories.

The ExCEL fellows say that with the student body's added awareness of all the innovative educational opportunities that are available, they hope more students will opt for programs that reach beyond the classroom.