The PD Hack That’s Scaring Up Great Ideas

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• ❤ What Matters Most: why saying less matters on your campus

• 🎧 How Love Can Transform Your Campus: join Danny on this episode of the H.O.P.E podcast

• 😊 Take a Happiness Break: and “let silence take you to the core of life”

• 🎯 Difficult Conversations: how to disagree while still getting your point across

DO SCHOOL DIFFERENT

The PD Trick That’s Scaring Up Great Ideas

It started like any other Monday, until the word “ghost” came up.

It’s Monday night, and I’m meeting with the usual Mastermind crew from across North America.

There’s a familiar hum as we settle in — hot beverages, cozy sweaters, and a little light laughter before we begin.

Our facilitator smiles into the camera and says, “Okay, I’ve got a fun tip for you this week. It’s called a Ghost Walk.”

As she shares a visual of cheerful teachers “floating” through classrooms, noticing what’s usually invisible, we’re instantly hooked.

The name is clever and perfect for this time of year.

The concept is simple and immediately useful.

Ghost Walks, it turns out, don’t involve any actual ghosts. (I had visions of showing up in a classroom wearing a bedsheet).

They are low-stakes teacher observations that happen when students aren’t in the room.

I’ve been looking for a way to jumpstart professional learning and have it feel more collaborative and less evaluative.

“Perhaps,” I thought, “this might be it!”

I loved the idea partly because it’s a creative professional learning tool. Who doesn’t love finding the perfect gadget in a messy toolbox?

But I also appreciate how it captures something essential about teaching: it’s a practise that takes practise.

Every student and every class is a new moment.

The only way to get better is to keep showing up, reflecting, and trying again.

And sometimes, it takes another set of eyes to help us see what we can’t.

That’s the beauty of a Ghost Walk: learning by observing, reflecting, and growing together.

The best professional development doesn’t come from a manual or a workshop.

It comes from watching each other work.

No anxiety around judgments or feedback.

Just noticing and learning with a colleague.

From a colleague’s sunny southern Florida school, that idea drifted all the way north to the frozen hinterland of my northern BC backyard, haunting schools in the best possible way.

So this week, I’m planning a Ghost Walk at my school.

Collaboration with one teacher.

Curiosity, clarity, and collective growth together.

And the scary part is how simple it really is.

Sometimes, the best professional growth happens from the simple act of opening a door and quietly noticing with fresh eyes.

If you’re part of a learning community — or leading one — try a Ghost Walk at your school.

You might be surprised by what you notice.

Here’s how to do a ghost walk below …

TIP OF THE WEEK

Make the Invisible Visible

A “ghost walk” doesn’t have to be formal or spooky.

It’s simply a way to slow down, notice what often goes unseen, and learn from the everyday brilliance happening around you.

Here are a few simple ways to start:

• Ask yourself or your team: “What’s something here that usually goes unseen?”

• Try a mini ghost walk. Pop into a colleague’s class for five minutes. Notice one thing that works, and catch up with them later to tell them what you saw.

• Shift your lens from evaluation to exploration. Instead of “How would I rate this?” ask “What can I learn from this?”

• End your next staff meeting with a curiosity check: “What’s one thing you’re curious about in your practice right now?”

Small questions build big culture.

And when we lead with curiosity, learning will follow.

SUNDAY VIBES