In this study, we aim to examine the phases of inquiry-based learning and how to best prepare future teachers for inquiry-based teaching. While preservice teachers may leave teacher preparation with an understanding of the tenets of inquiry, their experiences in methods courses and experiences teaching in the field do not adequately prepare them to implement inquiry-based learning in classroom instruction. Part of this problem of practice relates to how the process of inquiry is ill-defined and muddy. We use a literature review methodology to investigate this problem by examining and comparing how teacher candidates are prepared with inquiry-based methods. We used Banchi and Bell's (2008) Levels of Inquiry model as a lens for reporting on different levels of inquiry-based preparation of teacher candidates. This lens was informative, though ultimately too restricting. We found that the types and degrees of inquiry-based teacher preparation vary greatly from context to context. This variation inspired our design of the Flexible Phases of Inquiry model. This model is a framework to support educators' understanding of how the levels of inquiry are not fixed, but rather overlapping and dynamic.