Engaging College Students in Experiential Learning： Learning Through Serving, Inspiring Through Experience, and Creating Identity Through Bilingual Poetry

Experiential learning is the opportunity to meld teaching with experience; ＂to do＂ the things students learn about in the classroom, yet outside the classroom walls. I am an instructor that embraces experiential learning. Every other year, I lead a Chican@ Literature class which, after the semester is finished, culminates with a two-week excursion to New Mexico. While on-campus I highlight specific themes within Chicano narrative and poetry. Discussions focus on several key aspects regarding Chican@ Literature whose purpose is to create a voice for those whom have been marginalized within mainstream American culture. Chican@ Literature emphasizes a concept of origin which is reiterated in New Mexico through a sense of place in nature. A second topic often addressed in Chican@ Literature is the idea of aprendizaje. This is a journey of knowledge. In each episode experienced, the narrative voice gains a broader understanding of identity. This aprendizaje is also shared by my students as they gain a sense of self as defined by their own community in juxtaposition with their New Mexican fieldwork and the bilingual poetry they write. Lastly, Chican@ Literature often reveals an author or poet＇s personal culture clash or cultural fusion within the creative work itself. Once again, my students write about their own perspectives in a poetry workshop and presented their pieces during a poetry slam. Some of these pieces are included in this manuscript.