Learning is at our core and covers all subject disciplines, co-curricular pursuits, personal development and interest areas. Helping our Toowoomba Grammar School boys view learning as a disposition that goes well beyond the classroom context is incredibly important. Learning has a life-long value in all we do. We also acknowledge that learning can be challenging at times, and it can be uncomfortable, but also wonderfully inspiring and fulfilling.

Appreciating the full range of feelings and emotions associated with learning is helpful for everyone, but particularly students for developing a sense of their own journey when approaching new concepts or working through material they are still developing their skills and competencies in, whether it be through a music piece, maths concept, sentence structure in writing, bowling in cricket or writing code. At TGS Junior School we use the analogy of “the learning pit” which illustrates the feelings and emotions when beginning to learn a new concept through to mastery; visibly going down into a pit then up and out the other side to successfully achieving new knowledge, skills or understanding. Travelling through these feelings takes courage, particularly when the learning material becomes challenging.

The learning pit commences when learning is first engaged. This can be an exciting and interesting experience but we also recognise that, for some, it can be a time of nervousness. We begin to learn and inevitably experience new information which can challenge us, stretch us, be complicated or contradict what we thought we knew. The visible line of the learning pit at this point is tracking down and our feelings and emotions may feel like that too – frustrated, overwhelmed, confused. At this point we organise the information, make sense of what we are learning about and build confidence in constructing the understanding. Our learning pit line at this point begins to turn up. When we engage support, strategies and practice, the learning pit line moves further north, our confidence compounds and we see our progress develop until we feel a sense of achievement and accomplishment in our new knowledge or understanding. Visibly seeing the learning pit journey can be very helpful for a student to understand where they are on that timeline and have the confidence to continue through the challenging sections towards success.

There are many more tools that can assist us all through the learning process, including clearly defined objectives, modelled examples, scaffolded supports, criteria for success, frequent and timely feedback, data and self-review to name a few. These are all tools in our teacher's toolkit to help our students understand their own learning. The learning pit is a nice analogy though for understanding the feelings and emotions associated with the learning journey and assuring that we do come out the other side with support, guidance and self-confidence.

- Ken Raven, Head of TGS Junior School


Latest Blog

Teaching & Learning
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Thursday, 29 Aug 2024

Gummingurru Excursion - Deep Time History of Australia on our Doorstep

Gummingurru is unique in being the best-preserved initiation site in southeast Queensland, including bora rings and various stone arrangements that have ancient links to the totems and kinship practices of the Jarowair and Giabal people of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, as well as the broader region within the highly significant cultural landscape of the Bunya Mountains. The boys were welcomed to, and guided through, the site and its learning centre by Mr Shannon Bauwens, a Western Wakka…

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Blog Thursday, 22 Aug 2024

Responding to Negative Peer Interactions

As we approach the end of Term 3, we find it is typically a time when boys start to get tired and emotional and are most likely to make poor decisions that can lead to relationship challenges between peers. Comments and humour shared between mates that may have been received without concern in the first week of the term may change as boys start to tire and their tolerance levels decrease. This may lead to boys reacting with heightened and overly emotional responses. This is normal as boys are…

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Boarding
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Thursday, 15 Aug 2024

Boarding is who we are

Our boarders make up nearly one third of our student cohort from Years 5 to 12, which enables us to consider the boarding experience in all that we do at the School. Every boarding experience at TGS is about equipping boys with the skills to function as a student and preparing them for their future.

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Community Engagement
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Wednesday, 07 Aug 2024

Making a Positive Impact with Homework Assistance

The Anglicare Homework Assistance Program (HAP), run in conjunction with Darling Heights State School, sees many of our boys volunteer their time on Wednesdays after class to help many young refugee and primary school students facing challenging times with their homework, or to chat and play games. Our boys thoroughly enjoy meeting, supporting and learning about the lives of the younger children. This forges community connections and fosters inclusion for the Darling Heights students; it also…

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Sports & Activities
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Wednesday, 31 July 2024

Fresh Faces Guide - TGS Sportsmen into the Fray

With their dedication to excellence and player development, TGS athletes are in good hands as they navigate the challenges and triumphs of competitive sports.

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Teaching Excellence
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Wednesday, 24 July 2024

Honouring Tradition, Preparing for the Future

They will invariably be inspired by effective teaching and the satisfaction of personal achievement will always be motivating. At Toowoomba Grammar School, the power of high-quality instructional practices has resulted in the development of a strong academic culture that has endured for nearly 150 years. Preserving core principles provides stability and continuity. However, we must be open to continuously adapting our methods so that our students are well-prepared for the ever-changing world…

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Character & Wellbeing
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Wednesday, 17 July 2024

We See You - Mitchell Wilkes

That was the heart-wrenching diagnosis for Year 10 student, Mitchell Wilkes, right on Christmas in 2021. Mitchell’s mum noticed he wasn’t reading properly and had a gut feeling that there was something wrong with his eyesight. A trip to the optometrist revealed a thinning in the retina, and further tests showed that Mitchell had a genetic condition called Stargardt Disease, a juvenile macular degeneration illness that results in slow central vision loss.

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Old Boys
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Thursday, 11 July 2024

Correcting our School's official record commemorating World War I and World War II

On the eve of our 150th year, we're calling on the School's alumni, parents, past parents and greater community to aid us in correcting the record of our involvement in two watershed geopolitical events of the 20th century. For the last four years Toowoomba Grammar School Museum Volunteers, Mrs Ann Hallam and Mrs Sue Palmer, have been updating the School records on Old Boys, staff and Trustees for the World War I and World War II theatres of war. Over the years several staff and volunteers have…

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Grammar 150
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Monday, 01 July 2024

A Pioneering Woman of TGS

My late husband was a teacher, and our four children are all teachers, which we encouraged them to do because it is the best job in the world. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for 36 years, working under four Headmasters: Mr Bill Dent, Mr Hugh Rose, Mr Peter Hauser and now Dr John Kinniburgh. I still drive into the School each day and smile, looking at the beautiful place it is — magnificent ovals, gracious trees and historically significant buildings. It is difficult to express the…

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