Rohloff, Tricia D2016-03-252017-04-142016-03-252017-04-142015-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/187497Capstone Project, presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education degree in the College of Education and Human Service Professions by Tricia D. Rohloff, University of Minnesota Duluth, August 2015This study examined west central Minnesota teachers' perceptions of their professional development. Preschool through twelfth grade teachers in three west central Minnesota school districts were surveyed to determine the practices, perceptions, barriers, and desires related to their profession development. The results indicate that all participants engaged in some form of professional development. Off-site workshops/conferences, college/graduate level courses, and informal professional development activities were perceived as most beneficial as were "other", content area specific, and technology topics. The greatest barriers to professional development related to time, location, lack of financial resources, and district/state requirements. The results of this study can be used to enhance and maximize the meaningfulness of professional development for west central Minnesota teachers and other teachers across the nation.enProfessional developmentTeachers' perceptionsWest Central MinnesotaCollege of Education and Human Service ProfessionsDepartment of EducationMaster of EducationPlan Cs (coursework-based master's degrees)University of Minnesota DuluthScholarly Text or Essay