Two new studies coming out in the journal Cognition, one from MIT and one from UC-Berkeley, reach similar conclusions about teaching preschoolers.

Direct instruction is a good way to teach students specific facts, which can lead to higher marks on standardized tests. However, it fails to foster curiosity and creativity in children, two qualities that are difficult to test and measure but are undeniably important in students’ overall learning.

Providing open-ended learning opportunities pushes students to reach conclusions on their own. In both studies, preschoolers were presented with a toy with multiple different parts. A teacher showed one group of preschoolers a couple of ways to manipulate the toy; when left alone, they imitated what the teacher showed them. For another group of students, the teacher “acted clueless” about how the toy works; when left alone, these students discovered multiple different ways to play with the toy.

Directly teaching preschoolers about the toy was effective, as the students were able to understand the functions they were shown. However, providing less direct instruction prompted students to make their own conclusions and eventually to reach more conclusions overall.

These recent studies are in line with recent research suggesting that maintaining a playful classroom environment in the early years seems to have serious benefits for young students.