Is it necessary to doubt in order to learn?

Abstract

Many teachers organize student learning through group work sessions. These sessions unfold in two temporalities: after thinking individually about a situational problem, students must confront their opinions. The aim is to generate socio-cognitive conflict. Cognitive conflicts can arise from these controversies, along with uncertainties about the knowledge one possesses to solve the situational problem. We studied these processes among high school students who regularly experience working in groups. Using a phenomenological approach, we collected their opinions through semi-structured interviews, partly enriched with simple self-confrontations. The research concludes that several preponderant factors matter to the organization of group work sessions: the choice of a relevant situational problem as well as an individual and immediate retroactive application at the end of the session.