Beyond the obvious notion that inquiry discussions strengthen critical thinking, there are plenty of other academic benefits you can reap without any extra effort. Inquiry sharpens speaking and writing skills; it promotes vigorous, motivated reading of adult-level material, as kids pursue their own questions. The research center in your room will be the in place to be. Inquiry provides greater access to the curriculum for more students with longer lasting effects.

I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think. —Socrates

In an inquiry-based classroom, kids no longer do school. They don't take deliveries. They create knowledge by thinking together, and that knowledge is more potent than anything found in a textbook.

One fine day, dialogue will break out among your students. They'll shoot questions directly at each other, and for as long as it lasts, you're out of a job. This is the highest compliment you can receive from your kids. Cherish it and then go out and do something really nice for yourself. You're a new-age Socrates, and you didn't even have to sip the hemlock.

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Resources

Cecil, Nancy. 1995. The Art of Inquiry Teaching: Questioning Strategies for K-6 Classrooms. Manitoba: Peguin Publishers.
Whitin, Phyllis, and David Whitin. 1997. Inquiry at the Window: Pursuing the Wonders of Learners. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.