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I appreciate that the fast plants inquiries that Wil shared are little question seeders. I left the lab thinking that I wanted to set up a fast plants corner in the classroom just for me---just because I was curious and excited to do the initial trials AND then figure out what else I could investigate from there. Opening the inquiry up so that students decide what kind of data they will collect and how, what conditions they will set up, what ideas they want to test...all of this is the essence of a great inquiry. The topic or theme (plants, life cycles, environment vs. genes....) creates a natural boundary that is not too restrictive and offers kids the opportunity to play with the toys that you as the teacher have provided.

Wil's inquiry met a couple of other criteria for a good inquiry lesson--it was self-generating---I just can't imagine any student feeling "done" with the whole thing after one day or week or even the span of the unit. It was also an activity that calls on students to surprise me, be creative--there wasn't a whole lot of room for kids to just replicate or regurgitate--the onus is on the student to tell/show me what they are thinking/think they know/are curious about---it is the kind of inquiry that helps me safeguard against inserting too much teacher into the process. It is the kind of inquiry that will lead kids (I think naturally) to collect content knowledge because they want to know more. It is the kind of inquiry that lends itself well to interdisciplinary study. Finally, it is the kind of inquiry that will capture the attention of and draw on the experiences of folks outside the classroom, so that when my students invite them in they will experience other students and adults being genuinely interested in their findings, questions and ideas.