It also means presenting new topics for discovery, exposing the child to new ideas, and taking the child to new places for exploration. It is the process of learning that is being internally directed, or child-led. In contrast, imagine an adult trying to teach a child about something the adult thinks is important or interesting. When this is used as the baseline, it is easy to see that unschooling can encompass a huge variety of methods. Some kids love free, intensive exploring of one topic, learning everything about it before moving on.
Some kids learn best with movement or music or tactile exploration.
Whatever the learning style, if the child is determining how to learn the information, it will be better retained and assimilated. While this is John Holt's philosophy in its purest form, generally an unschooling parent has an idea of the next step in a child's education. For example, a six or seven year old might be learning addition. The kids who explore intensively will play games, draw, build with a variety of manipulatives, and do other things to learn. Some kids will dance while reciting addition facts, or trace numbers in the sand in order to internalize the facts.