Teaching vs sharing vs nothing?

I recently read an article describing a study on teaching and children.  I cannot for the life of me remember where, or even if it was in print or online.  Sorry.

Anyway one study was that an adult brought out a 'goofy' toy that made some noises or lit up depending on the order that knobs were pushed or pulled.  There was no picture but I got the gist it was just an electronic box of some sort with many different combinations that would lead to different sounds and lights.

Anyway they had three ways of presenting the toy to children.  In one type of group they simply walked in and put the toy in the room with the children.  Something akin to an Unschooler/Unparenter 'seeding'.  (leaving useful items or good books around in hopes the kids would pick them up.

The second group the adult walked in the room with the toy, called the children over and proceeded to teach them how to make a combination or two that caused a light and a sound.  The adult told the children the box made other noises and lights as well, but only taught one or two ways.  Somewhat akin to a traditional classroom approach.

For the final option the adult walked in, called the children over to show them the toy that she had 'discovered'.  She asked what they thought it would do, and acting like she was simply exploring she 'found' a combination that worked for a sound or light.  She then took suggestions for other combinations and played for the same amount of time as the above group.  This is more my style of teaching.  For most subjects aside from Math and Reading, I really don't know that much more than my children, and we love learning together.

After the adult left the children to their own devices, the group that found the most combinations and remembered them later to share with a different adult was the last.  The group with the LEAST use and ability was the middle with the 'traditional teaching model'.  Most didn't even remember how they had been 'taught' to create a sound, much less have any idea on how to make different ones.

I found the experiment to perfectly explain why I fully 100% support unschooling to excess over public school, even though I myself prefer at least some form of a 'checklist of topics'.

I would love to proponents of education work more to understanding how to let children be children, and less on how to 'drill' information into their heads.