The concept of “non-disposable assignments” (NDAs), including those referred to as “renewable assignments,” has grown in popularity in recent years in select education circles, particularly alongside an enthusiastic push toward open pedagogy. Unfortunately, little organized literature exists to effectively define, implement, and empirically evaluate what is ultimately an age-old though infrequently applied practice of assigning students a learning activity that provides impact or value outside the traditional student–teacher dyad. In contrast to the often-detested “disposable assignment,” NDAs can be defined by their openness and, accordingly, their ability to reach others, even beyond classroom boundaries. It is this very characteristic that likely underlies anecdotal reports of NDAs’ success at promoting student excitement, engagement, productivity, and achievement. In this report, we briefly review supporting rationale and guides for the implementation and innovative applications of these utilities of open pedagogical practice. Further, we provide a framework for conceptualizing NDAs wherein the openness of assignments can be viewed to influence others across three key dimensions: time, space, and impact/value, or “gravity.” This model is further exemplified through a succinct review of representative NDAs applied at our own institution. Based on this framework, we endeavor to promote a launching ground for empirical research focused on effective practices and learning outcomes for NDAs and, accordingly, support for open pedagogy. Together, the current model and research strategy presents a path for future integration of NDAs in the individual instructor’s open-education toolkit to benefit innovation in the classroom for students and humankind.

中文翻译：

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非一次性作业的概念框架：激发实施、创新和研究

“非一次性作业”(NDA) 的概念，包括那些被称为“可再生作业”的概念，近年来在某些教育界越来越受欢迎，尤其是在对开放式教学法的热情推动下。不幸的是，几乎没有有组织的文献可以有效地定义、实施和实证评估最终是一种古老但很少应用的做法，即为学生分配一种学习活动，在传统的学生-教师二人组之外提供影响或价值。与经常被讨厌的“一次性分配”相比，保密协议可以通过其开放性以及因此与他人接触的能力来定义，甚至超越课堂界限。正是这种特征很可能成为有关 NDA 在促进学生兴奋、参与、生产力和成就。在本报告中，我们简要回顾了这些开放式教学实践效用的实施和创新应用的支持原理和指南。此外，我们提供了一个概念化 NDA 的框架，其中任务的开放性可以被视为在三个关键维度上影响他人：时间、空间和影响/价值，或“重力”。通过对我们自己机构中应用的代表性 NDA 的简要回顾，进一步例证了该模型。基于此框架，我们努力促进实证研究的启动，重点关注 NDA 的有效实践和学习成果，并因此支持开放式教学法。一起，