What does this show you can do?

Last week, Marcus was speaking with a learner nearing the end of a placement.

“Tell me about something you’re proud of from your placement,” he asked.

The learner paused for a moment.

“I completed a patient education project.”

Marcus nodded.

“That’s what you did. Tell me about how you did it.”

The learner thought for a moment.

“I had to research the topic, work with other staff, and present recommendations.”

Marcus kept going.

“What challenges did you run into?”

“Some of the information was conflicting, so I had to compare different sources and decide what was most relevant.”

“And then what?”

“I adjusted my recommendations based on the evidence and feedback I received.”

Marcus smiled.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

The next step

• In how learners approach challenges
• In the decisions they make
• In how they respond to feedback
• In how they adapt when things don’t go to plan
• In how they apply learning in authentic contexts

What does it mean to show a skill?

During another conversation, Marcus asked.

“You said you worked well in a team. What did that actually involve?”

The learner replied:

“We divided up the work.”

Marcus prompted further.

“How did you decide who would do what?”

The learner paused.

“We looked at everyone’s strengths and adjusted responsibilities as the project progressed.”

“And when there were disagreements?”

“We talked through different options and agreed on an approach.”

Now the learner was no longer simply claiming teamwork. They were providing evidence of teamwork. The capability was becoming visible through examples, decisions, and actions.

From description to evidence

This is the shift we will explore this week.

Moving from:

“I have strong communication skills.” to:

“I presented recommendations to a healthcare team, responded to questions, and adjusted my explanation for different audiences.”

Or from:

“I’m a good problem solver.” to:

“I compared different sources of evidence, identified conflicting information, and adjusted my recommendations based on what I learned.”

The first examples are descriptions, whilst the second are evidence.

Why this matters for learners

When learners can articulate their skills and capability:

• they understand their own learning more clearly
• they recognise how capability develops over time
• they can explain what they have done and why it matters
• they are better able to transfer learning into new situations

And importantly, others can understand it too. Educators, employers, placement supervisors, professional bodies, and colleagues all rely on evidence to understand what someone can actually do.

A small shift, not more work

What is important here is that Marcus did not ask the learner to complete another task. He simply asked different questions. Questions that encouraged reflection, explanation, and evidence. Often, visibility begins with helping learners move beyond:

“What did I do?” and towards:

“What does this show I can do?”

That is where skills literacy starts to develop.

Looking ahead

In the next steps, we’ll explore practical ways to capture this kind of evidence more consistently, so that capability becomes easier for learners to recognise, articulate, and share.

Personal Reflection

Think about a recent learning, assessment, workplace, or professional experience. If someone asked you, “What does this show you can do?”, how would you answer?