Through this task you…

Using the scaffold: “Through this task, you…”

It’s a subtle shift that makes the capability visible. But in practice, this is not always easy. When we start to write skills statements, it’s common to fall back into language that is either too broad or too technical.

For example:

“Through this task you demonstrated critical thinking”

“Through this task you applied analytical skills”

These are accurate, but if you read them as a learner, they don’t necessarily tell you what you actually did. This is where the shift from abstract to specific becomes important. Think back to the example from the video. Instead of saying: “Demonstrated problem-solving”, we described what that looked like:

“Through this task you tested different ideas, noticed what wasn’t working, and adjusted your approach which is experimentation and problem solving.”

Now the skill is something you can see, and if you can see it, chances are your learners can start to see it.

Check your language

As you begin to write your own skills statements in the next step, it can help to pause and ask:

• Can I picture what the learner is doing?
• Would a learner recognise themselves in this description?
• Is this something that could be observed in their work or behaviour?

If the answer is no, the language may still be too abstract.

Keep it simple

It can also be tempting to make the language more formal or technical. But in most cases, simpler is better. You’re not writing a framework, you’re writing for a learner. This is the translation step in skills literacy.

In the next step we’ll put this into practice.