rep. Revista Española de Pedagogía

This article studies the importance of the social-cognitive conflict in the students’ intellectual development. From the point of view of the social nature of the cognitive development it is analysed how socialisation, personal development and intellectual progress go together, as well as the role of peer interactions and student-teacher interactions, as a boost for this growth. The article is based on the contributions made in this field by Geneva School as well as the ones by Vygotsky and Piaget, which conclude the need to foment cooperation in the classroom in order to promote the interactions of classmates and to generate intellectual progress through social-cognitive conflict and its verbal expression. Paloma Gavilán Bouzas

Key Words: Cooperative learning, Social-cognitive conflict, Interaction of classmates, Social dimension of learning, Teaching considerations.