The missing ingredient in how we learn

0:07 In 1851, the Prussian government feared that Friedrich Fröbel’s scandalous new

0:12 approach to education might teach disobedience and lead to peasant rebellion.

0:18 The name of Fröbel’s school?

0:20 Kindergarten.

0:22 Its controversial curriculum included singing and dancing,

0:26 gardening, painting, and playing.

0:29 Prussia banned kindergarten,

0:31 enforcing a strict system of supervised classrooms and government-approved

0:36 lessons that clearly separated learning time from play time.

0:40 And over the next century,

0:42 the Prussian model inspired public school systems around the world.

0:47 But while it might seem traditional now,

0:50 the belief that play and learning are at odds

0:52 with each other is a relatively new idea.

0:56 Before the last few centuries,

0:58 children around the world spent most of their time learning through play:

1:03 observing and mimicking adults, roaming their surroundings,

1:07 and sharing what they learned with friends and family.

1:10 Many communities and educators still believe play

1:14 is one of the best teachers we have, and they’ve taken a variety of approaches

1:18 to keep this kind of self-directed learning alive.

1:23 In his Kindergartens,

1:25 Fröbel provided specially designed toys to help kids learn concepts like volume,

1:31 density, and even the principles of geometry.

1:34 And today, Montessori schools continue to embrace toy-based learning.

1:40 Montessori toys— or materials, as they call them— are rigorously

1:44 designed to isolate and teach specific concepts.

1:48 For example to learn math,

1:51 babies and toddlers might explore dimension with fat wooden cylinders,

1:55 then unlock more spatial reasoning with a set of pink, stackable blocks.

2:00 Older children tackle a set of brown stairs to learn about height,

2:05 while a series of red rods reveals the secrets of length and balance.

2:10 Teachers gently guide this exploration

2:13 by asking students questions and suggesting

2:16 material specific activities— like arranging the rods in order of size.

2:21 But Montessori classrooms also have a range of ages and low teacher to student

2:27 ratios to encourage students to explore

2:30 the materials together and learn from each other.

2:34 Reggio Emilia schools also give students sensory objects to explore together,

2:39 but they're especially focused on letting the students direct their learning.

2:44 Every corner of a Reggio classroom is designed to reward curiosity,

2:49 allowing students to follow their interests and express

2:53 themselves with a variety of artistic tools.

2:56 Even when Reggio teachers do assign formal projects,

3:00 they start by asking students open-ended questions— from how to make a model

3:05 ship float or sink to how they should decorate an art studio.

3:10 Then they design the project to explore the student’s assumptions and interests,

3:14 weaving in their curriculum along the way.

3:19 Skeptics might argue that self-directed learning lets kids avoid the subjects

3:23 they’re not as interested in, leading some students to fall behind.

3:27 But most of these schools use an interdisciplinary

3:31 approach to ensure no subject is left behind.

3:34 For example, in project-based Laboratory Schools,

3:38 the day might start by solving a number puzzle,

3:41 then using the answers to compose a piece of music or three dimensional art.

3:47 By choosing to explore overlapping concepts through multiple projects,

3:51 teachers can show different practical applications

3:55 that make abstract ideas feel concrete and useful.

3:59 In all these models, giving students more agency comes with challenges.

4:03 Different kids have different needs,

4:05 so educators have to be sensitive and able to adapt.

4:09 From rearranging the room to redirecting attention,

4:12 teachers need to respond to each student while maintaining a safe,

4:16 playful environment for all.

4:19 This requires buckets of emotional intelligence, prep time,

4:23 and trust from both parents and their school’s administration.

4:28 But for many educators and learners, the effort is worth it.

4:33 A 2023 analysis of over 30 studies found that Montessori

4:38 education outperformed traditional schools in language and math learning,

4:42 as well as in developing creativity and social skills.

4:47 And these benefits go beyond early learning.

4:49 Many universities are moving from lecture-based

4:52 learning towards long-term projects and roundtable discussions.

4:57 MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten tries to extend a playful,

5:03 creativity-first approach to learners of all ages,

5:06 giving students a variety of physical and digital tools to explore,

5:10 experiment, and express themselves.

5:14 Some architecture and engineering students even use

5:17 Fröbel’s special toys to hone their design

5:21 principles and spatial reasoning— showing that it’s

5:24 not only children who learn through play.