Sounds like formative assessment with the use of explicit learning to increase skill, with lots of peer and self reflection. Does not sound like a child centred inquiry.
I might be missing the point here. Was that an experiment to see what project results kids at that age are able to deliver with proper guidance? I don't doubt everyone involved had a lot of fun. However, I doubt this is age appropriate and would worry that critical developmental milestones are simply skipped in those kids.
This was the project she chose to display because it is most likely the most visual representation to allow us to see the results in a timely manner. Inquiry based learning requires extensive documentation so that the students teachers and parents can see the progress but that would be tedious to go through reading quotes and the little details of non visual concepts. Most teachers are taking on this approach to some extent even if only for some lessons because it is so effective. It teaches the child to think research problem solve and think critically to find information, find solutions, and look for proof of why that is in fact the solution. In a society where we can easily google any information we need, memorised information is becoming useless and outdated. We need more students that are prepared to take on the work force and real world with the ability to think and problem solve themselves without guided direction. Also, this approach actually has been beneficial to disabled and delayed children on reaching milestones and gaining traction in academics they did not have prior. So if done correctly these kids were probably better prepared for their next grade than most.
