Teaching with Design – How AI Research Synthesis Platform Notably Helped Push My Capstone Consulting Class to the Next Level

Sport management is not an academic discipline or profession that many associate with the field of design. However, over the past 7 years, I have used design thinking as the set of mindsets and methods in my senior capstone class in sport management at Indiana University Indianapolis.

Each semester, the class partners with a local sports organization on a challenge that is facing the organization. Partners have included sports facilities, governing bodies, athletic departments, youth sports organizations, sports commissions, and sports tech start-ups. In general, the theme of each projects tends to be around enhancing or improving experiences for users (athletes, coaches, officials, employees, members, volunteers, etc.). Bryan Kryder, CEO of Indy based design agency Right Hand, serves as co-instructor for the course to bring an industry lens and thinking to the projects. Fundamentally, the course is focused on consulting and innovation during the 16-weeks of the course. Prototyping and entrepreneurship are more difficult to reach due to time constraints, but students have started their own businesses based on work completed in the class.

This semester, we partnered with Special Olympics Indiana to help with recruitment and retention efforts of volunteer coaches. Amidst a general decline of volunteerism post COVID, Special Olympics Indiana was looking for various approaches to bolster the number of coaches to support sports programming across the state for athletes with disabilities.

High Impact Practices

The course is designed with two High Impact Practices in mind – capstones and project-based learning. I’ve completed two fellowships in recent years in the Institute for Engaged Learning and led two learning communities that developed taxonomies for best practice in both capstones and project-based learning courses. I’ve always been focused on applied and experiential learning, but design thinking gave me the framework to push students to be innovative and creative in tackling complex problems for sports organizations. I’ve always been unsatisfied with lecturing about content that will likely be outdated in the next 5-7 years, but never had the right framework or tools to push students beyond the “obvious” or “low hanging fruit” answers in the capstone class until I started learning about design thinking while pedagogically pursuing best practices within capstones and project-based learning.

The Class

To help students learn the key tenants of design thinking, students are introduced to the methods and mindsets of design in the pre-capstone strategic management course and then build depth and breadth of knowledge about design thinking using micro-learning on the FieldX platform to reinforce important concepts in the 4-step Double Diamond approach.

This semester, we adopted the AI-based research synthesis platform Notably to help students better turn research into insights and ultimately ideas. Notably was valuable at each step of the research process. This semester, students conducted 50 half-hour interviews with coaches to better understand their experience. In the past, I felt like we were leaving a ton of research insights on the table given the students inexperience in working with qualitative data and the varying levels of motivation and experience of students to get the most out of the interviews. But teaching with Notably was a gamechanger at each step of the process.

Transcribing & Summarizing Interviews

Students recorded their zoom call with the volunteer coach, then uploaded the file to Notably. Notably quickly and accurate transcribed each of the student interviews.

Notably has great tools for summarizing key themes and points for the interviews, and it allows users to create custom summary prompts to fit the need of the project. We helped to develop the Rose, Thorn, Bud summary template as a way for students to communicate key information about their interview with the class. It also helped to ensure that students were familiar with all the interviews, as it is more realistic to expect the entire class to read a summary than listen to all of the 30-minute interviews. It also ensured that all of the summaries were done in a consistent and quality manner, a step that has been challenging in teaching this class over the years.

Highlighting and Tagging

Tags allow you to track important demographic information about the interviewees. For this project, we tagged age, sport coached, years of experience coaching, and county of residence. Highlighting key phrases in the interviews helps to jump start coding and thematic analysis. Rooted in grounded theory, Notably’s platform is flexible in developing themes. It can also help jumpstart analysis by identifying themes from scratch at the start of the analysis process.

Sorting

With data highlighted, students moved the sticky notes into themes. In past projects, we lost a ton of important data between classes with physical sticky notes, as the notes are not durable enough to be used after that class period. The digital whiteboard with highlighted text sticky notes helped students work on the project outside of class and between class sessions.

Synthesizing

Several features on the Notably platform all a few buttons to be clicked to see the same data in a new way. This was impossible to do before, as all of the notes would have to be physically rearranged, but the user-friendly Notably interface allows this to be accomplished in seconds.

Summarizing Insights

Students completed several problem framing assignments in the platform and used the actual videos from the interviews to support (“cite”) their thinking. These were sharable across all of the student groups working on the project.

Prompting Questions for Idea Generation

Finally, we used several templates to help students start the brainstorming process and move from insights to action. For example, the STORYTELLING template tells the story of the data in four different ways to be persuade an audience, 6 THINKING HATS uses six hat thinking to develop six different types of ideas, and ZOOM IN, OUT, and ACROSS zooms in and out on a problem area to see it differently.

The Pitches

Students pitched their ideas in 10-minute presentations at the Special Olympics Indiana headquarters to leaders in the organization. A brief summary of their pitches are listed below.

Streamlining Organizational Design to Support Coaches

For years, Special Olympics Indiana has relied on devoted coaches and volunteers to drive this life-changing program forward. However, declining participation has threatened the future viability of Special Olympic Indiana’s mission. We have a bold new vision to reinvigorate volunteer engagement across the state.

Through in-depth interviews with over 40 coaches and surveys of County Coordinators, we identified a root issue driving volunteer frustration: the County Coordinator role. In well-run counties, coordinators provide invaluable support, while poorly managed counties leave coaches feeling drained and unsupported.

Innovative analysis of County Coordinator responsibilities shows critical gaps – County Coordinators simply aren’t completing core duties like scheduling practices and administrative paperwork for athletes and events. Our statewide County Coordinator survey reveals overworked volunteers struggling with insufficient support. As other states shift away from the County and Area model, we propose a bold evolution: consolidate County Coordinators alongside Area Directors into a unified 10-member Area Management Teams organized around functional expertise rather than county representation.

This achieves coordination and integration across counties to increase efficiency. Specialized roles based on technology, marketing and medical care better meet modern needs. County ties are retained through representation while avoiding duplication between County Coordinators and Area Directors. Communication channels are streamlined to Special Olympic Indiana leadership.

Streamlined state-level communication channels will also connect each functional coordinator to a director for their expertise. This facilitates direct access to guidance and resources from Special Olympics Indiana headquarters.

The data shows declining volunteer participation threatens Special Olympic Indiana’s survival. We have an opportunity to implement bold changes that provide the support structure coaches and volunteers need to create life-changing experiences for Indiana Special Olympics athletes into the future. This begins with revamping middle management. I urge you to consider this vision for a stronger, more sustainable organization.

 

Adopting Team Communication Platform to Streamline Communication and Administrative Tasks

In this presentation to Special Olympics Indiana stakeholders, we highlighted a critical issue facing new coaches—uncertainty and hesitation in the first 90 days of their coaching experience. Drawing parallels to the disorientation felt by college freshmen without guidance, we emphasized shared passion among new coaches to contribute positively to the community and athletes with disabilities. Our research identified four distinct personas of new coaches, all lacking crucial initial coaching knowledge. The overarching problem that we attempted to uncover was coaches second-guessing their decision due to a confusing onboarding and support process. Coaches expressed feeling lost and burdened by administrative complexities. To address this, our group developed STAGE, a five-pronged process aimed at providing coaches with the tools and knowledge to confidently navigate their first 90 days.

The process included key moments of Starting, Training, Assigning, Gathering, and Embracing. These moments focus on delivering an optimistic first impression, personalized training, smooth team integration, meaningful team-building, and open acceptance within the coaching community. STAGE is designed to enhance the coaching experience by offering user-friendly processes, valuable content, and extended appreciation. We envision coaches feeling motivated and confident, leading to a positive word-of-mouth effect. The process incorporates personalized touchpoints, care packages, and mentorship opportunities to make coaches feel valued and supported. Our implementation plan involves revamping the website for better accessibility, introducing Special Olympics-oriented training, and reallocating resources to fit into the Special Olympics Budget. We emphasized that investing in STAGE will lead to better outcomes for Special Olympics Indiana and its dedicated coaches, aligning with the organization’s goal of recruiting 1000 new coaches over three years. The ultimate vision is for coaches to complete the first 90 days feeling like integral members of the Special Olympics Indiana family. We believe this positive experience will be shared among peers, enhancing the organization’s reputation and encouraging more individuals to join as coaches. STAGE aims to transform uncertainty into confidence, fostering a thriving coaching community dedicated to the Special Olympics mission.

Empowering Coaches to Connect and Learn from each Other in a Community of Practice

Within the current state of coaching with Special Olympics Indiana— there is a yearning for connection and guidance. To address this, we created MyWorldOfCoaching, an innovative app poised to revolutionize the coaching landscape, filling a critical gap in the sports tech marketplace.

Our app is more than a technological solution; it is a one-stop-shop for coach empowerment. We envision a scenario where coaches, previously isolated in their learning process, now have a unified platform. MyWorldOfCoaching is the answer to feeling burnt out, transforming coaches into individuals who crave the coaching experience, armed with the right tools and a sense of community.

Currently, there is a void in coaching technologies—no app seamlessly integrates video training, team management, community interaction, and event management. MyWorldOfCoaching is the unified hub coaches need, eliminating uncertainty and providing a clear avenue for team coordination. MyWorldOfCoaching features MyCalendar, MyTraining, and MyCommunity, empowering coaches to access the right information at the right time while staying connected within their community.

Our app’s technological face is a vehicle for a broader solution—a community of practice. Coaches, bound by a shared passion, learn from and teach one another, fostering a culture of continuous education. Within a true community of practice, coaches will interact with and learn from on another more regularly to create collective intelligence. MyWorldOfCoaching is more than an app; it’s a catalyst for a cultural shift in Special Olympics coaching, creating a desire for knowledge and camaraderie.

Imagine a future where coaches, players, and everyone involved with Special Olympics Indiana is not just connected by an app but united by a shared commitment to growth and excellence. MyWorldOfCoaching initiates a culture shift, making coaches more educated and more connected than ever. MyWorldOfCoaching is not just an app; it’s a movement towards a future where the Special Olympics coaching experience is synonymous with community, collaboration, and collective empowerment. Together, let’s redefine the coaching landscape and create a lasting impact on Special Olympics Indiana.

Developing a Framework for Community Connection and Awareness

Community Connect is a framework presented to Special Olympics Indiana stakeholders, addressing crucial gaps in community engagement. An influential interview we conducted was with a coach in northern Indiana who indicated that the mayor of her mid-sized town was unaware of Special Olympics Indiana had programming in the city.  This underscored a pervasive issue—the lack of awareness about Special Olympics at influential community levels.

Community Connect transcends a mere solution; it’s a catalyst for comprehensive engagement. Rooted in community involvement, it establishes a vital link between partnerships, volunteers, coaches, and the pinnacle—the Special Olympic athlete. The central challenge identified involves powerful community figures being unaware of Special Olympics, coupled with inconsistencies in county promotions and a deficit in community partnerships.

The proposed solution recognizes that a strong community is the foundation of a thriving Special Olympics ecosystem. The narrative powerfully communicates the impact of community support on athlete experiences, emphasizing the need to bridge the current scarcity of volunteers and coaches.

A touching story about a nonverbal athlete hitting his first shot surrounded by the community at a Special Olympics basketball game illustrates the transformative power of community involvement. This narrative sets the stage for a three-phase approach—awareness, consideration, and conversion—aimed at drawing passionate individuals into the Special Olympics community.

Community Connect’s strategic blueprint includes impactful partnerships with nonprofits and local businesses, a unified social media strategy, and targeted marketing efforts. It envisions a future where Special Olympics Indiana becomes a prominent fixture in newspapers, articles, radio, and news stations, fostering widespread community engagement.

In conclusion, Community Connect appeals to stakeholders for support. It aspires to create a connected, engaged community where every athlete, coach, and volunteer receives the backing they deserve. By backing this initiative, you contribute to a community that not only appreciates but actively participates in the Special Olympics journey—truly a gift that gives back.