Inquiry Based Learning

I have to confess when I signed up for Inquiry Based Learning, I was just hoping to check another class off my list. Examining my teaching the past two days, I am a bit embarrassed. A lot of what I have been doing this school year has been going through the motions. It is not the type of teaching style I know to be effective and best for fostering learning.
After this brutal reality set in, my thoughts quickly went to my classes for the day. How can I get some of this going in my class today? 
I had some inhibitions right from the start. Will the students get anything accomplished this way? 
The assignment I gave my students today was, "What is unique about the many orders of insects?" After that the class was randomly assigned groups. All eight groups had to explore a different class of insects. During their research they were building a "living Power Point" on large sheets of paper. Each group worked with their section of material and then presented their findings to the entire class. It was a huge hit. The handful of students thanked me as they left the room, and a few others asked if we could do it again soon.

In looking back on the assignment, parts of it could have been structured a bit more. During the process, I circulated and facilitated what the students were doing. My main two points of instruction were about keeping the students moving and making sure all members were engaged. 
Thinking about what was shared in Topic D, "The environment is different. When first starting out down the inquiry path, it feels different. This is a change, and change can be uncomfortable and messy. Stay the course."
It felt a little bit messy today. Kids were on the floor working. Students were gathering materials and designing parts for their presentations. If someone would have walked in during the process they might have certainly questioned if learning was taking place. The proof though came in the outcome. The groups did some really great work. They presented the information much better than I would have, and it was full of pep, funny transitions/animations, and hit on many different learning styles.
I do have some burning questions that I am hoping can be answered:

• Is it feasible to use inquiry based learning every day? 
• Does a teacher need to design a basic curriculum pathway to help keep the class directed toward some measurable goal?
• What if your students actually prefer an old school style of instruction? Do you force them to move away from that?