No Question Is Wrong

A reflection by Dr Shiam Chuttoo, with my QUEST Model, linked to my book Achieving Academical Excellence.

No question is wrong. A question is a door. Some open onto small rooms, some onto whole new worlds, and none of them open until somebody knocks.

The question nobody asked

On the wards, in the classroom and as a sign-off mentor, I met the same silence many times. A student sits at the back, holding a question tight, afraid it will sound foolish. The lesson moves on. Weeks later the gap shows up in an essay, on a placement or at the bedside, where it costs far more than one brave sentence would have.

So I told every group the same thing on the first day: in this room, no question is wrong. Ask it out loud, and you will often find that half the room was wondering the same thing.

My book Achieving Academical Excellence, first published in 2009 and now coming out in a second edition, was written for learners who want to reach their best. Questions sit at the heart of that journey. This piece takes that idea further and gives you a simple model to act on.

Seven types of question, and when to use them

Closed: answered with yes, no or a fact. Did you take your tablets this morning? Good for checking and confirming.
Open: invites a fuller answer. How have you been feeling this week? Good for starting a conversation.
Probing: digs deeper into an answer. What makes you say that? Good for finding the real issue.
Clarifying: checks you have understood. Do you mean the first deadline or the second? Good for avoiding mistakes.
Reflective: turns the question inward. What did I learn from this, and what would I do differently? Good for growth after any experience.
Hypothetical: imagines a different situation. What would happen if we tried it another way? Good for planning and creativity.
Socratic: gently tests an assumption. How do we know that is true? Good for critical thinking, the habit the Greek teacher Socrates made famous.

One word of care: leading questions, such as You are feeling better now, aren’t you?, push people towards the answer we want. In health, social care and education they can hide the truth, so use them sparingly and knowingly.

Climbing Bloom’s ladder with questions

Benjamin Bloom and colleagues described levels of thinking in 1956, and Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl revised them in 2001. I have used this ladder for years to plan lessons and to analyse new ideas. Each rung has its own kind of question.

Remember: What is…? Who said…? When did…?
Understand: How would you explain…in your own words?
Apply: How could you use this at work or at home?
Analyse: What are the parts, and how do they connect?
Evaluate: What are the strengths and weaknesses? What would you recommend?
Create: What new model, plan or solution could you build from this?

Most of us stop at the first two rungs. Excellence, in study and in life, lives higher up. Every model I share on this blog began as a question on the top rung: what could I build from this?

My QUEST Model

© Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. Five steps from a question to action.

Q, Question freely: no question is wrong. Write it down, then ask it out loud.
U, Use the right type: choose closed to check, open to explore, probing to dig and reflective to grow.
E, Explore up Bloom’s ladder: keep asking until you reach analyse, evaluate and create.
S, Share and let others ask: Jiyo aur jeene do (जियो और जीने दो), live and let live. Respect other people’s questions and answers, even when they differ from yours.
T, Take action: every good question ends with a next step. Decide what you will do, and by when.

Jiyo aur jeene do: live and let live

This old Hindi saying belongs in any classroom. A good learner asks freely and lets others ask freely too. Nobody laughs at a question, nobody is made small for not knowing, and every answer is heard with respect. A group that lives by this learns faster than any group I have known, because people stop hiding what they do not yet understand.

Explain your stand, and leave the headlines

When someone asks you a hard question, answer it plainly. Say what you think, why you think it and what it is based on. Clever soundbites may win a moment of attention, and they leave the real question unanswered. In my years of teaching, the answers I trusted most were the calm ones that showed their reasoning, whether or not anyone applauded.

Your reaction raises questions

People watch how we respond as closely as they listen to what we say. A raised voice, a rolled eye or a sudden silence can raise more questions than the original question ever did. So before you react, pause, breathe and ask yourself one quiet question first: what is really being asked here? A steady reaction keeps the door open for the next question.

The question you run from

Desperation tempts us to run: from the bill we will not open, the test result we will not ask about, the conversation we keep putting off. Run as far as you like, and life will catch you up. If not today, then tomorrow, or on some day still to come. The questions we avoid wait for us, and they usually grow while they wait. Turn round, face the question while it is still small, and ask for help with it if you need to.

We need action

A question that changes nothing is only half asked. Try these this week:

Write down one question you have been afraid to ask, and ask it.
Turn one closed question you use often into an open one.
Take something you read today and climb it to the Create rung.
End your next conversation by asking: so what will we do now?

Questions to sit with

Which question have I been carrying silently for too long?
Which type of question do I use most, and which do I avoid?
When did someone’s question change the direction of my life?
How can I make it safer for others to ask me questions?

Ask freely. Ask wisely. Let others ask. Then act.

A word of caution. This piece is for education and personal reflection. It is not medical, psychological, legal or academic advice, and it does not replace guidance from a qualified professional or your own tutor. Please understand any technique before you use it. Anyone who uses these ideas does so by their own choice and is responsible for their own actions. If worry or low mood stays with you, talk to your GP or another health professional.

© Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. The QUEST Model is the original work of Dr Shiam Chuttoo, linked to his book Achieving Academical Excellence (2009). Bloom’s Taxonomy is credited to Benjamin Bloom and colleagues (1956), revised by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl (2001). Credit: QUEST Model, created by Dr Shiam Chuttoo. You may share or use this model only with my permission, or with clear credit to me as its author. Contact: shiamduth@outlook.com. Work record: Ref DSC-2026-QUEST-01. Title: No Question Is Wrong. Author: Dr Shiam Chuttoo. Created 15 October 2026. All rights reserved.

How I prepare my work

I write as a life coach, lecturer, nurse and social worker, and as a Mauritian who has made his home in Britain since 1988, carrying Kreol, French, English, Bhojpuri and Hindi with me. My aim is to inspire, to transform and to get you thinking actively. I think divergently: I take an idea from one world, merge it with another, and see what new shape it takes. Every piece begins in my own notebook, with my own sayings, my own models and the lessons of my own life.

Why do I turn ideas into models? People learn in different ways and at different speeds, so I teach eclectically, drawing on many fields of knowledge. I then shape what I find into a short model with an acronym, such as SPRING, STORM, QUEST or HOME, because a few letters are easy to remember and easy to carry into daily life. Over the years my students have told me this is what stays with them. As the old saying goes, give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime. Each of my models is my way of teaching you to fish.

To research, check and shape each piece, I use every tool I can put my hands on: books, libraries, my training notes, Google, Microsoft Word, and AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT. I name them openly because honesty matters to me. Some people will say a piece is copied, or that a machine wrote it. Few see the hours behind it: reading, researching, checking sources, testing each idea against my own experience, and rewriting until the message is clear. The tools help me search, sort and polish. The ideas, the models, the stories and the final word are mine, every source I draw on is credited, and I take full responsibility for what I publish.

If you spot an error, please tell me and I will put it right. And if this is not for you, that is perfectly fine. I have no wish to force anyone to read it. The door stays open for anyone who wants to come in.

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