LAUSR

This article shares the journeys of two New Zealand secondary school educators participating in the Virtual Professional Learning and Development programme, who developed sufficient confidence to undertake a Developing Virtual Mentor role in the initiative. Qualitative and quantitative data were developed into stories of change and illustrate the process and outcomes of involvement in a future-focused environment of virtual mentorship supported by a tailored online community of practice. Evidence is shown of shifts in the educators’ beliefs about learning and teaching, corresponding changes in professional practice, and the positive impact on student learning and on professional colleagues. The authors discuss key findings by conceptualising them using an Inclusive Framework for Professional Development. The three interconnecting dimensions of the framework – personal, professional and political – provide a tool to examine the tensions, challenges, aspirations and inspirations of the participants’ respective experiences. It is hoped that the framework will prove useful for other practitioners involved in educator professional development.