摘要：This paper explores the role of marking and feedback styles in learning and discusses ways in which academics respond to student work using the analogy of an ‘educational control system’. It is argued that using this style of thinking can help assessors to refine their approach to assessment and feedback. In engineering terms, ‘control system events’ (in this instance, for example, exams, tests and feedback) act as inputs to the next stage of (student learning) development. This paper argues that activities themselves are feedback and that marks plus associated (feedback) remarks or comments together drive the student learning process and educational attainment. This process can be assisted by making assessment terminology and criteria clear. Research on meta-cognition suggests that students need to know about the learning process, that is, what is expected of them, as much as what they ‘learn’, and that thinking styles are as important as learning styles in all assessment processes, including coursework. Examinations should provide feedback as part of the educational control system. Suggestions are made to assist the use of feedback and remarks to enhance attainment.
