Asking a professor to teach better In my mathematics program, one of the qual prep courses is being taught by a professor who, put bluntly, is not putting in the effort.

He is essentially reading from the book (which I don’t particularly like but it’s a standard text so fine), but his notes were clearly made years ago and he doesn’t seem reviewed them before class. There are often mistakes, inconsistent notation, repetition of material, a dearth of examples (read examples x.xx to x.yy in the book), etc. I know part of this is that he has many administrative duties, but still. He seems to be aware he isn’t doing great.

Is there a way I can bring this up with him politely but firmly?



I am aware the above seems harsh. I am perhaps letting my frustration get in the way of asking a good question. 

I certainly don’t want to give a stern lecture, that’s why I’m posting here. I would say I have built up a rapport with this professor, I’d say we like each other and I know he is capable of teaching well. On the other hand, I feel there aren’t questions I could legitimately ask. When the last thirty minutes of one class are the first thirty minutes of the next, what is there even for me to say?

Perhaps related, I am rather confident of my grasp of the material, which I’ve seen before, but many of the students are first years, who are of course also adjusting to graduate school so. I understand that ultimately learning is in the students but this is the first grad course.
If you want to bring this up with them, you need to focus on concrete things you want done differently. "Try harder" is going to (a) antagonize them and (b) not change anything for you (except maybe for the worse). The professor, as you say, is aware that they are not putting in much effort, and it is very unlikely that they will change this habit unless forced to.

I suggest thinking about what, concretely, would help you most if done differently. If you need more in-class examples, raise the issue as "I feel the class would profit from working through more examples in class". If the inconsistent notation is a problem, ask him if it is possible to unify notation. These are not things that are an incredible effort for the teacher, so they have a realistic chance of getting addressed. Complaining and hoping that the teacher somehow sees the error of their ways isn't.

That said, there is a good chance that all complaints and requests coming from you directly to the teacher will be brushed aside. If the teacher is as badly prepared and unmotivated as you say, they are probably not the kind of person who would care deeply about student satisfaction. In that case, going one level higher (i.e., complaining to the programme manager or equivalent) is often more useful. While this will not typically improve things rapidly, it will likely improve the situation of this course over time, especially if complaints are raised from different classes (it's hard to continue to brush off student complaints if the same complaints come again and again for multiple years).