Based on the population of students that I have, I would probably say that humanism and social/cognitive and cognitive theories are most used in my classroom.
I feel that I have developed a positive and constructive working environment where students struggle to find their own answers and solutions but also know that they have my support to fall back on. I never answer a question directly but rather ask other questions and give only subtle prompts so that students are able to come to solutions on their own. In this way, they learn to troubleshoot, slowly getting problems correct and relying less and less on my prompting. They realize their potential and oftentimes, go above and beyond in projects and assignments because they know that they can.
I also try to give my students some control over assignments and parameters...even classroom rules. If they feel like they have some ownership over what they do and how they are regulated (and reprimanded), I find that they are more academically invested and apt to start, work diligently and accomplish a task. Students are determined to engage in activities and be successful when they have helped to determine what it is they need to do.
I had each of my classes develop a set of consequences when rules are broken. Already this year, when a reprimand was handed down, I was able to refer to the consequences that THEY constructed, not me, and there was less complaint. It is my hope that because they perceive some self-ownership of these consequences, they will be less likely to break the rules.
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