The Rams didn’t get the outcome they were hoping for on Saturday.

Texas Wesleyan (0-10, 0-7 CSFL) fell to the Arizona Christian University’s Firestorm (7-3, 5-3 CSFL) 63-7 at Farrington Field.

“We played pretty bad; they played pretty good,” head coach Joe Prud’homme said.

The Firestorm scored 49 points before the Rams returned a punt for a touchdown in the third quarter. Trey Jackson ran the ball 70 yards to score and the Bryce Nye kick was good, bringing the score to 49-7.

The Firestorm scored once more in the third quarter and again in the fourth to make the final score 63-7.

The Rams fell short in several important areas.

1. Making easy plays.

The team missed plays that they could have made easily, Prud’homme said.

“We missed a lot of plays that we could have made,” he said. “They were the better team and they showed it.”

“[The Rams] needed to play as a team,” linebacker Tristen Blake said.

2. Stopping big plays.

“As a defense, we could have defended the long passes better,” linebacker Vincent Stephenson said. “We allowed too many big plays this week.”

Even though the defense did allow some big plays, the team didn’t give up, Blake said.

3. Making the most out of opportunities.  

“Special teams was strong,” Stephenson said, “putting our offense and defense in good starting field position.” 

Jackson was the first Ram since the team returned to play after more than 70 years to return a punt for a touchdown, according to ramsports.net.

“The best part of the game was the punt return for a touchdown,” Stephenson said. “It gave us life late in the game.” 

Prud’homme said he would like to thank everyone for all of the support they’ve given the Rams during their first season.

“I appreciate everybody sticking with us,” he said, “and hanging in there. I know it’s not easy for anybody. I appreciate all the support.”

The Rams finish their season next Saturday with a game against Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. in Goodwell, Ok. For more information go to ramsports.net.

The Rams are gearing up to play No. 23 Arizona Christian University in the last home game of the season.

The Firestorm (6-3, 4-3 CSFL) won the Central States Football League Conference Championship in 2015 and in 2016.

The Rams have a lot to work on after losing last week’s game to Wayland Baptist University, head coach Joe Prud’homme said.

“In every phase, we have to make improvement, it was our sloppiest game overall since McPherson,” Prud’homme said.

The Rams took their first lead of the season two weeks ago in the game against Lyon College, which excited the team, Prud’homme said.

“We were all pretty disappointed in our performance last week,” he said, “especially after the strong effort at Lyon.”

The Rams need to improve in these areas if they want to perform better against Arizona Christian University.

1. Continue to work as a team.

“We’ve got a better understanding of the playbook,” quarterback Erik Richards said, “and our assignments opposed to that of the first game, and we also have nine games under us so the guys have some experience to build on and relate to.”

The team has better chemistry now but the players have to continue to trust each other, cornerback Jordan Sutherlin said.

“We’ve become more comfortable with each other,” Sutherlin said. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so we know how to help each other.” 

2. Keep the Firestorm from scoring early.

Richards said it will be important to get momentum early on Saturday and keep it. It can really hurt a team mentally if their opponent scores extremely early in the game.

“Wayland scoring hurt us initially because they got up on us so quick,” Richards said, “so I think we got the wind knocked out of us a little bit.”

It’s hard to play without being discouraged when the team is behind only 30 seconds into the game, Sutherlin said.

“The thing I believe hurt the most was how fast Wayland scored to begin the game so we were playing from behind the whole way,” he said.

3. Execute third downs.

The offense needs to capitalize on every down, but especially third downs, Richards said.

“As an offense, we could’ve executed third downs better,” he said. “We had a few drives fall short because of missed third down opportunities.”

If the offense can fix “[their] passing game and finish drives and avoid the three and outs,” the team will be get better, Prud’homme said.

4. Improve energy.

“The energy was high in warmups because Wayland was more or less taunting us in pre-game,” Richards said. “So, the coaches did a good job of firing us up.” 

The energy the team had in warmups quickly sputtered out after Wayland scored so early on. The team needs to prevent this and not allow it to affect the rest of the game, Sutherlin said.

“It kind of killed the momentum and made us lack energy,” he said.

5. Stop big plays.

The defense has been trying to get better at stopping big plays all season, Sutherlin said.

“We need to stop the big plays,” he said. “That’s been the struggle this whole year. We thought we had it last week. But those big plays during the game killed what we had going.”

Last week’s defense was led by Parrish Dixon-Smith, who had two interceptions, including a pick-six for a 36-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, according to ramsports.net. His performance gave him the title of Central States Football League Defensive Player of the Week.

The Texas Wesleyan Rams will play the Arizona Christian University Firestorm at 2 p.m. Saturday at Farrington Field. For more information go to ramsports.net. The game will be shown on ramsports.net; go to the team’s schedule and then click Live Video.

The Rams fell to Wayland Baptist University on Saturday at Farrington Field.

If the 54-24 loss was not bad enough, head coach Joe Prud’homme said he did not see the team make any improvements over last week’s loss to Lyon College.

“We didn’t come back from as well as we were last week,” he said. “Last week we played really really well and we didn’t make many mistakes this time we made the mistakes and we paid for it and that’s what happens when you’re not ready.”

Wayland Baptist scored two touchdowns in the game’s first minute, the first on Devonte Hayden’s 95-yard opening kickoff return, and then less than 30 seconds later on a 32-yard pass from Caleb O’Connor to Ben Owen; add in two extra points and the Rams trailed 14-0.

The Rams answered a few minutes later with a 23-yard Erik Richards pass to Cole Maxwell. Bryce Nye’s extra point was good to make the score 14-7.

But Wayland got a safety and then a 28-yard touchdown put the Rams behind 23-7 with only the first quarter gone.

In the second quarter, Parrish Dixon-Smith returned his first interception of the season 36 yards to close the gap to 23-14 after a Bryce Nye kick. Wayland Baptist scored another touchdown and then made a field goal bringing the score to 33-14 at halftime.

Nye kicked a field goal early in the third quarter, but the Pioneers answered with three touchdowns and extra points; by the end of the third quarter, the Rams trailed 54-17. The Rams scored the final touchdown of the game on a 33-yard Richards pass to Maxwell, followed by Nye’s extra point, bringing the final score to 54-24.

The Rams needed to improve on several things to be more competitive:

1. Energy.

The Rams had plenty of confidence going into the game but lacked focus and attention, Prud’homme said.

“I think we just came out flat,” he said. ”We came out flat when we warmed up and that kind of carried over into the first quarter.”

The team allowed their energy to be affected by Wayland’s actions too much, linebacker Tristen Blake said.

“Our energy level was fine until some things happened and we just kind of went flat,” he said.

The problems really started before the game for the Rams, said running back Da’vonte Mitchell-Dixon. He agreed with Prud’homme that the team’s energy during the warmups wasn’t good enough.

“I feel like our energy during warmups and pre-game really dictated the outcome,” he said. “I feel like most of the team came out like it was just a normal day. It was the first time I thought our team didn’t care what the outcome would be and we cannot have that at all.”

2. Cohesiveness.

The team didn’t improve from last week’s game against Lyon College, Prud’homme said.

“For the whole season,” he said, “we’ve definitely made some big strides from the beginning of the season to now.”

As each game is played, the Rams learn something new and come closer together, Blake said.

“Each week we have become closer as a team and have started to play more as a unit and not individuals,” he said.

The biggest gain the team has made since the first game is chemistry, linebacker Vincent Stephenson said.

“We have gained chemistry and learned how to better react off of each other as the play is developing,” he said.

The team has come together as a unit and realize execution is just as important as energy and force, Mitchell-Dixon said.  

“I feel like we’ve became more of a unit and we started realizing we have to execute,” he said. “Our coaches always say if we have everybody doing what they’re supposed to do we’ll see better results.”

3. Staying calm.

Wayland scoring so early in the game threw the Rams off their game a little bit, Blake said.

“We were not focusing on what we needed to,” he said. “Keep our composure and not retaliate against the other team when they try to get in our head.”

The early points shocked the team, Stephenson said.

“That’s usually not how it happens,” he said. “It took us a few drives to buckle down and put it behind us.”

Being behind 14-0 so early messed up the Rams’ momentum, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“Them catching us off guard like that was the turning point in the game,” he said. “It messed us up mentally.”

4. Preventing mistakes.

The Rams could’ve executed better. If a few mistakes were eliminated the team could’ve stopped some of Wayland’s big plays and scored more often, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“There was plenty of times we came close to scoring or getting in the end zone and we made mistakes, he said. “If we cut the mistakes down we could of seen a different outcome.”

The mistakes hurt the team most. The Rams don’t have a lack of talent or ability but a few mistakes add up, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“We have two more games left and if we can fix our mistakes or at least limit them, I know we’ll end this losing streak,” Mitchell-Dixon said.

5. Responding to penalties.

The Rams have to work on being consistent regardless of how the game is called or how the other team performs, Blake said.

“[Our biggest weakness is] not being consistent,” he said, “not responding with the right attitude to all the penalties.”

The team should’ve responded better to Wayland scoring so quickly, Stephenson said.

“I think we could have handled adversity during the game better,” Stephenson said, “especially after them scoring so early on.”

The Rams will play Arizona Christian University in the last home game of the season on Saturday at 2 p.m..

Prud’homme appreciates all the fans that have supported the Rams this season. It just takes time to gain experience and create a winning program, he said.

“The only way they can get the experience is to actually play,” he said, “and there is no magic solution for it except they have to play get experience and playing time.”

The Rams have one goal in mind for this Saturday.

“Score more than Wayland,” head coach Joe Prud’homme said, referring to the Wayland Baptist University Pioneers, the team the Rams will be playing at 2 p.m. at Farrington Field.

But within that goal, there are smaller ones as well, Prud’homme said.

“Limit penalties, have extended drives on offense, continue to force turnovers on defense. Score with our special teams,” he said.

The Pioneers (3-5, 3-3 CSFL) have had a mediocre season. They won two of their three wins by two points or less. Their biggest win was last Saturday, when they beat Bacone College 48-21, according to wbuathletics.com.

The Rams, meanwhile, did noticeably better than in past weeks in last Saturday’s game against Lyon College. Not only did they only lose by just seven points, 21-14, but they also took the lead for the first time all season on a first quarter one-yard touchdown run by Jermarcus Jones, followed by Bryce Nye’s extra point.

Here are five ways the Rams have been preparing to achieve their goals this Saturday.

1. Getting to know Wayland.

The Rams have been watching film on Wayland to get to know their style better, running back Da’vonte Mitchell-Dixon said.

“To get ready for Wayland, we’ve been looking at certain formations they line up in to put us one step ahead,” Mitchell-Dixon said.

Understanding the opposing team is important to every game, cornerback Kameron Brown said.

“We are going to review what we need to review on the opposing players,” Brown said. “Know their tendencies and what they like to do on each side of the ball and attack them accordingly.”

2. Changing the game plan.

Each week the Rams incorporate new plays to keep the other teams guessing and to adapt to their opponent, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“The less predictable we are, the more we’ll see better outcomes in certain situations,” Mitchell-Dixon said.

The team added both offensive and defensive plays to take advantage of Wayland’s weaknesses, Brown said.

“We added a couple plays to catch their defense slipping,” he said, “as well as on the defensive side we added a couple assets to get over on their offense.”

3. Fixing past mistakes.

“We are working on correcting the mistakes that we made last week,” Prud’homme said.

The Rams started to prepare for the Wayland Baptist game on Sunday by briefly touching on the things the team would be working on during the week and learning from mistakes during film, linebacker Tristen Blake said.

“We basically just looked at what we need to fix from this past week,” Blake said.

4. Being confident.

The Rams played very well against Lyon College and the team is hungry for a win after being so close, Prud’homme said.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” he said. “That has helped our confidence.”

The Rams are excited because they’re finally starting to see what they envisioned back in the fall of 2016 when the program started, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“I’m excited because I can see that we’re growing as a team and it’s something special,” Mitchell-Dixon said. “If we can have great momentum going into this game I know we’re going to have a fun Saturday.”

The Rams are eager to get back on the field, Brown said.

“We feel like this is a great opportunity to get our first win” he said.

5. Playing as a team.

The entire team has been working on trusting each other and playing as a unit, Brown said.

“Our focus this week is getting the entire defense to click,” he said. “Our defensive line is finally coming together and playing really great so now we’re focusing on getting the rest of the components of our defense to click as well.”

The game will be available to stream live or follow via live stats on ramsports.net. Tickets are $10 general admission and are available for purchase on ramsports.net or at the gate.

The Rams lost to Lyon College 21-14 on Saturday in Arkansas, but there was a significant sign of improvement.

For the first time in the season, the Rams (0-8, 0-5 CSFL) led an opponent. The team’s first quarter drive of 45 yards in 11 plays was capped by a fourth down Jermarcus Jones one-yard run; Bryce Nye’s extra point gave Texas Wesleyan a 7-0 lead, according to ramsports.net.

The Scots (3-5, 1-4 CSFL) kicked two field goals in the second quarter to make the score 7-6 Wesleyan; head coach Joe Prud’homme called this the game’s turning point.

“I think when we gave up the two FGs late in the second quarter was a turning point,” he said.

In the third quarter, Lyon scored on an 18-yard pass capping a seven play/50 yard drive, followed by a two-point conversion. They scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter, followed by an extra point.

The Rams scored a second time in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard pass from Erik Richards (seven completions out of 19 for 64 yards and no interceptions) to Jones, followed by a Nye extra point.

The Rams are getting better but they still need to focus on improving in these ways:

1. Getting momentum.

The Rams were encouraged to play harder by their first lead of the season, linebacker Vincent Stephenson said.

“It felt good to play with a lead,” Stephenson, “it gave us energy knowing we had a lead especially in the first half.” 

Linebacker Tristen Blake said taking the lead in the first quarter really motivated the team.

“Honestly, it gave us a lot of momentum going into the second half.” Blake said. “It was their homecoming, so it just made it that much sweeter to be up on them.”

2. Playing as a unit.

“I think we improved as a unit this week ability wise,” Stephenson said, “and also improved on our effort.” 

The Rams brought even more effort to the Lyon College game than any other game, Blake said.

“We were playing more as a unit, as a group,” he said. “It wasn’t just a bunch of individuals on the field. We played cohesively.”

3. Preventing big plays

“The defense created some really good opportunities and played well overall,” Prud’homme said. “We gave up a couple of throws that hurt us.”

The defense did a great job making plays in the backfield, Stephenson said.

“As a defense, we did a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback,” he said.

The Rams competed well but were lacking execution at times, Blake said.

“If you take a few plays away here and there,” he said, “maybe a play on offense and a play on defense, we win the game.”

4. Improve passing consistency.

“The offense did better,” Prud’homme said. “We need to be able to put together more consistent drives and improve our passing efficiency.”

The Rams are on the road again, this time to Arkansas to take on the Lyon College Scots.

Both teams are 0-4 in the Central States Football League, and Rams head coach Joe Prud’homme says his team is changing in several aspects, perhaps the most noticeable being Erik Richards getting the nod as starting quarterback during last week’s 33-18 homecoming loss to Bacone College.

-traveling to Pioneer stadium Saturday to take on the Lyon College Scots in Arkansas.

“We needed to give Erik a chance and felt that his running ability would open up the running game,” Prud’homme said of the redshirt junior, who last week completed eight of 25 passes for 45 yards. He also ran for a 16-yard touchdown.

Here is what the Rams are doing to take on the Scots:

1. Upping the intensity.

The Rams have kept the same approach in practice but increased the intensity and physicality, wide receiver Anthony Caston said.

“This week it has been an intense focus on scramble drill now that we have a more athletic running QB in the starting lineup,” Caston said.

2. Conditioning.

The Rams have been continually working on their strength and stamina, Caston said.

“I’ve been trying to get as many reps as I can so I can stay on the field longer as well as increase my explosiveness after catching the ball,” Caston said.

It’s important that the Rams have the physical strength to block big players and run the ball a long distance, Caston said.

3. Staying positive.

The Rams are trying to stay positive despite the way the season has been going, running back Da’vonte Mitchell-Dixon said.

“So far we’ve been trying to keep a positive mind,” Mitchell-Dixon said. “We can’t go into a game with our head in the gutter because of our record. If we do that, we’ll just continue to lose.”

4. Combatting the Scots’ game plan.

Lyon College is an established team that runs the ball well, Prud’homme said. The team’s record so far this year is 2-5.

“We are working on capitalizing on opportunities and finishing drives with our offense,” Prud’homme said.

The Rams always adjust to the way the other team plays, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“That’s really just the game of football,” he said. “For every team we end up playing, we have some different plays designed to put us ahead.”

The Rams have also been reviewing the Scots’ games during film to prepare for their specific plays, Mitchell-Dixon said.

5. Preparing to travel.

Pioneer Stadium is 442 miles away from Texas Wesleyan. The drive to Batesville, Ark. takes about seven hours to complete.

Some of the Rams love away games because of the travel time, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“I love travel games,” he said. “I love sleeping on the bus for long hours and getting off the bus to a football field. I think it gets us rejuvenated.”

Prud’homme does not like games that require a lot of time to travel to the game because of its effect on the players.

“The longer the trip, the tougher it is on the legs and overall preparation,” Prud’homme said.

The game can be watched live or followed through live stats on lyonscots.com.

While the Rams lost their homecoming game to Bacone College 33-18 on Saturday at Farrington Field, head coach Joe Prud’homme still had good things to say about his team’s performance.

“We didn’t play smart but we played hard,” Prud’homme said shortly after the loss. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

Prud’homme also praised the fans for coming out to support the team; attendance was 2,573, according to ramsports.net.

“I just appreciate everybody being here and being behind us,” he said. “It helps a lot.”

Bacone (2-5, 2-3 CSFL) was comfortably ahead by the fourth quarter, when the Rams scored all their points.

First, Jordan Sutherlin took a blocked extra point and ran the ball 100 yards for two points. Next, quarterback Erik Richards hit Colton Wade on a five-yard touchdown pass; Bryce Nye added the extra point.

Nye added a field goal, to give the Rams 12 points. The team’s final score was Richards’ 16-yard touchdown run.

A redshirt junior from Caddo Mills, Texas, Richards made his first start of the season, and had eight completions in 25 attempts for 45 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, according to ramsports.net.

Here are five ways the Rams are working toward a win and improving for future seasons.

1. Making the most out of opportunities.

The Rams played well and put themselves in a good position but didn’t take advantage of the opportunities they got, Prud’homme said.

“But we played hard enough to get those opportunities in place,” he said. “We’ve got a first down on the 15 you’ve got to score we didn’t get that done.”

The offense looked pretty good and did well driving the ball, Richards said.

“We didn’t capitalize and score like we should have, though,” Richards said.

2. Eliminating big drives.

Overall, the defense did their job well they just allowed a few big plays that hurt the Rams in the end, linebacker Vincent Stephenson said.

“As a defense, we defended the run well and also forced a lot of three-and-outs,” Stephenson said. “We still need to work to eliminate letting up random big plays.”

3. Working as a team throughout the entire game.

As has been the case in the past, the Rams were not able to score until the fourth quarter.

“As a team, we need to improve on putting together a whole game,” Stephenson said. “Not one or two quarters where we decide to turn things up a notch.”

4. Avoiding mistakes.

“We had a little bit of improvement,” Prud’homme said. “We just have a ways to go. We’re still growing, still growing up.”

The Rams improve every week, Richards said. They just need to avoid making big mistakes.

“I think overall we did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We just can’t get away from the four or five mishaps that put us behind or in bad situations.”

5. Recruiting.

The coaching staff has been working to get some new talent to come to the game and watch and then, perhaps play for the Rams next fall, Prud’homme said.

“We’ve got some really good kids coming,” he said. “We’re really proud of them. I think we’re going to do well recruiting.”

Head football coach Joe Prud’homme says the Rams have one priority heading into Saturday’s homecoming game against Bacone College.

They need to finish what they start.

“The main priority is to finish plays, drives, quarters, halves and games. We need to play well in all three phases in the same game for an entire game,” Prud’homme said Tuesday, not long after the team’s early morning practice. “We learn from our mistakes, build on our successes, and then turn the page after every game.”

The Rams (0-6, 0-3 Central States Football League) lost to Texas College on Saturday; the Steers had not won a game this season or last. For Saturday’s homecoming game at Farrington Field, the Rams face another struggling opponent. Bacone College is 1-5 this season and 1-3 against CSFL opponents, according to baconeathletics.com.

One of the real keys to the Rams getting a win before a hometown crowd is attitude, said running back Da’vonte Mitchell-Dixon.

“Being 0-6 is something that no player or team wants,” Mitchell-Dixon said. “It hurts and a lot of people on this team have never lost this many games in high school. We all have stayed positive and the people that care about this team and want to succeed know that we can’t give up and have to keep fighting.”

The team has been working on getting focused and perfecting their skills, Prud’homme said. The Rams are working hard to improve every area they can.

1. Defense

The defense is focusing on defending against high impact plays, he said.

“Take away the big plays and adjust to motion,” Prud’homme said when asked what the defense’s main focus was.

The Rams have been spending even more time on the practice field than usual, cornerback Warren Cotlong said.

“We started having practice start a little earlier,” Cotlong said, “so we can have plenty of time to make sure everyone’s equipped for the game.”

The defense gets a little better week by week, so the main goal is to maintain the rate of improvement, Cotlong said.

2. Offense

The offense has been trying to finish more drives with touchdowns, Prud’homme said.

“Finishing plays and drives,” Prud’homme said, “continue to improve the run game.”

The offense is working on operating as a single unit instead of individual players, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“One thing that has messed up us all year long is that we never have all 11 players on the field going 100 percent and doing their job,” he said. “If we get that fixed, the sky’s the limit.”

3. Special teams

Special teams has continued to improve each week. Colby Reed had an impressive 57-yard punt last week, which set up Vincent Stephenson’s safety, according to ramsports.net.

“Special teams have been really solid this year,” Prud’homme said, “we want to score this week on special teams.”

4. Culture

The culture of the team has only gotten better and better since day one, Prud’homme said.

“Our team is growing up and learning what it takes to compete at the collegiate level and they have kept a positive attitude,” he said. “We are building the foundation and when you are as young as we are, coupled with the amount of injuries that we have had, it makes it very tough.”

The team uses mistakes as learning opportunities and builds on their successes, he said.

“We turn our attention towards improving the overall team every Sunday,” he said.

5. Intensity

The team always wants to up the intensity of their plays and be more aggressive, Cotlong said.

“Our coaches make sure we understand that you practice the way you play in the game,” he said, “so every practice we like to compete with high intensity so that everyone can get an accurate simulation or feel of how it will be on Saturday.”

Intensity is something the Rams cannot go without, Mitchell-Dixon said.

“Intensity is something that this team needs,” he said. “There’s drills we do to get us to where we need to be when it comes to intensity.”

The Rams play Bacone College at 2 p.m. Saturday at Farrington Field. Live stats and a live stream of the game will be available Saturday on ramsports.net.  Tickets are $10 general admission and are available at the gate and on ramsports.net.

Many people take the same route to being college professors: they go to school, get a doctorate, and get a job.
Dr. Robert Thiebaud didn’t. The Texas Wesleyan assistant professor of exercise science was going to be a computer science major just because he liked it, but switched to exercise science at Brigham Young University because it was taught in a more cohesive way than the computer science classes he was taking.
“I just kind of decided I wanted to switch and try something different,” Thiebaud said, “but I still liked science. I also liked exercise. I love sports. I just went to the counselor and they told me about exercise science. I loved it and just stuck with it.”
Thiebaud, affectionately called Dr. T by many of his students, said that he worked at several different physical therapy clinics, decided they weren’t a good fit for him, and then decided to pursue a master’s degree in exercise science at BYU.
As a graduate student, Thiebaud could teach activity classes and conduct research.
“I started doing it, and I really enjoyed it,” Thiebaud said. “Learning about new things is always fun. When you have questions, you can actually go and try to find the answer.”
Thiebaud said he owes some of his credit to the mentors that shaped him through graduate school.
“They got me to go to a conference,” he said, “and kind of just built on from there until I decided that, ‘I’ll do this Ph.D. and do research because it’s fun.’ I enjoyed it.”
Thiebaud earned his doctorate degree in exercise physiology at the University of Oklahoma in 2014, and began teaching at Wesleyan the same year. He said that at Wesleyan professor’s focus on teaching but are also expected to continue to do research. He combines the two and uses his personal experiments to teach students outside the classroom.
“That’s the fun part, I think, is to get students involved in the research,” he said, “so they can see all the stuff that they’re learning in class and how it can be applied to different scenarios.”
Thiebaud said research studies teach students more than just science; they also teach problem-solving skills, because no experiment can be conducted perfectly.
“Seeing them progress and enjoy the experience and then having the students actually present some of that research at conferences is exciting,” Thiebaud said.
Thiebaud finds experiment ideas through his own interests and his students.
“I always try to make [the experiment] more towards interests that I have, that I’ve done previous research on,” he said. “But the FitBit study that I did that wasn’t necessarily my area of research. It was a question some students had so I thought, ‘Hey, let’s do a project and figure out how accurate they are.’”
Thiebaud has been impacting students at Wesleyan since 2014, according to txwes.edu.
“Dr. T has shown me what it means to be an all-around good professor,” said senior exercise major Jacey Patton. “Not only has he been an incredible teacher, he has also helped in preparation for life after graduation whether that is graduate school or working in the field.”
Patton said that assisting Thiebaud with research has taught her many things besides just research methods.
“Conducting research has been very beneficial because it also taught me about myself,” Patton said. “I have been able to apply what I’ve learned in the classroom and have seen the aspects of research that I truly enjoy. It has shown me that I would like to continue conducting research and pursue higher education.”
Thiebaud typically invites students to be lab assistants, she said. Since Patton has always loved to learn, she jumped at the chance to help conduct research.
“I knew that I would have the ability to learn skills that would carry over into other aspects of life,” Patton said. “I was able to learn the process of conducting a research study and what it takes to conduct one of good quality. I was very excited to have the opportunity to put what I had learned into action.”
Lab assistants have a lot of responsibilities like testing equipment and gathering supplies, she said.
“I also help prepare the individual(s) participating in the research,” Patton said. “This includes things like placing electrodes in their proper place, fitting the equipment to the participant, making sure that they are aware of everything that will happen, and ensuring that they are comfortable throughout the testing. I also help in administering the test. This includes time-sensitive data collection, informing the participant of what will happen next, and making sure that the equipment functions properly throughout the protocol.”
Chandler Henderson, a senior exercise science major, said Thiebaud is very intelligent and makes being in the classroom fun. Thiebaud gives quizzes and homework to prepare students for tests, and he’s always open to students stopping by for help if they’re struggling with the material.
“I like that he takes an interest in each student,” Henderson said. “I like that he cares about his students and what he is teaching. He is a great man and a great professor.”
Oscar Peña, also a senior exercise science major, said he enjoys Thiebaud’s classes because he is passionate about learning, even though he has a Ph.D. Peña.
“He isn’t full of himself despite being a pretty smart guy,” Peña said. “He’s open to learning about new things and this kind of goes hand in hand with being passionate about teaching. If a student has a question about a particular subject and he isn’t able to answer it he will look into it and follow up the next class.”
Thiebaud tries to teach critical thinking, teamwork, and science using several different methods, Peña said.
“He is open to constructive criticism and suggestions on his teaching approach,” Peña said. “In doing so, he’s made it clear that his prime objective is making sure that every student is able to thrive in his class.”
Peña also said that Thiebaud has a great sense of humor and outlook on life that shine through in the classroom.
“I enjoy that he’s caring, and that he puts in grades fairly quick,” Peña said. “He tells you what he expects, what you need to do to be successful, and helps you as best as he can. What else would you want from a professor?”
For more information about Thiebaud’s studies, email rthiebaud@txwes.edu.