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Asking a professor to teach better
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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?
EDIT: 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.
graduate-school mathematics etiquette teaching
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
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?
EDIT: 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.
graduate-school mathematics etiquette teaching
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
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?
EDIT: 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.
graduate-school mathematics etiquette teaching
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
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?
EDIT: 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.
graduate-school mathematics etiquette teaching
graduate-school mathematics etiquette teaching
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
edited 36 mins ago
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
asked 1 hour ago
Ryan
10317
10317
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
The best approach to a situation such as this is definitely not to bluntly tell him "I think you are doing a poor job teaching this course. You need to try harder."
Building rapport with this professor may go a long way to encouraging him to "do better." From the perspective of the professor, I always felt more compelled to help students have a positive experience in my class when I knew them and when they made a good faith effort to engage with me in and out of class. Perhaps you could read the material in advance of class and come prepared with some questions to ask in class. After a few times of doing this, the professor will likely come prepared to engage with students a bit more.
From the perspective of a student, I know there are (hopefully rare) times where a professor is overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities, personal issues, burn-out, etc. As a student I had to take it upon myself to learn the material and succeed in the subject. Especially as I matured in my field, I saw that the successful students in my field did not rely on a professor to take them from ground zero to the stratosphere on a subject. The professor ultimately was there to supplement and formalize our learning. As this question is tagged graduate school, I even more emphatically feel that this is the case. When you are in graduate school, you have to be to the point where you can somewhat teach yourself the material as necessary. Once you are out of graduate school, there is no longer a professor to hold your hand and lead you along to the correct solution. You need to be able to find the answers for yourself.
I say all of this with the acknowledgement that some professors are stuck in their ways and that just building rapport and supplementing your in class experience with personal study outside of the classroom will not always change how a professor teaches. Note of course that if a professor does not respond at all to his students trying to engage with him, he is extremely unlikely to respond positively to a stern lecture from students or administrators about his sub-par teaching.
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
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up vote
2
down vote
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 change 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).
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
The best approach to a situation such as this is definitely not to bluntly tell him "I think you are doing a poor job teaching this course. You need to try harder."
Building rapport with this professor may go a long way to encouraging him to "do better." From the perspective of the professor, I always felt more compelled to help students have a positive experience in my class when I knew them and when they made a good faith effort to engage with me in and out of class. Perhaps you could read the material in advance of class and come prepared with some questions to ask in class. After a few times of doing this, the professor will likely come prepared to engage with students a bit more.
From the perspective of a student, I know there are (hopefully rare) times where a professor is overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities, personal issues, burn-out, etc. As a student I had to take it upon myself to learn the material and succeed in the subject. Especially as I matured in my field, I saw that the successful students in my field did not rely on a professor to take them from ground zero to the stratosphere on a subject. The professor ultimately was there to supplement and formalize our learning. As this question is tagged graduate school, I even more emphatically feel that this is the case. When you are in graduate school, you have to be to the point where you can somewhat teach yourself the material as necessary. Once you are out of graduate school, there is no longer a professor to hold your hand and lead you along to the correct solution. You need to be able to find the answers for yourself.
I say all of this with the acknowledgement that some professors are stuck in their ways and that just building rapport and supplementing your in class experience with personal study outside of the classroom will not always change how a professor teaches. Note of course that if a professor does not respond at all to his students trying to engage with him, he is extremely unlikely to respond positively to a stern lecture from students or administrators about his sub-par teaching.
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
The best approach to a situation such as this is definitely not to bluntly tell him "I think you are doing a poor job teaching this course. You need to try harder."
Building rapport with this professor may go a long way to encouraging him to "do better." From the perspective of the professor, I always felt more compelled to help students have a positive experience in my class when I knew them and when they made a good faith effort to engage with me in and out of class. Perhaps you could read the material in advance of class and come prepared with some questions to ask in class. After a few times of doing this, the professor will likely come prepared to engage with students a bit more.
From the perspective of a student, I know there are (hopefully rare) times where a professor is overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities, personal issues, burn-out, etc. As a student I had to take it upon myself to learn the material and succeed in the subject. Especially as I matured in my field, I saw that the successful students in my field did not rely on a professor to take them from ground zero to the stratosphere on a subject. The professor ultimately was there to supplement and formalize our learning. As this question is tagged graduate school, I even more emphatically feel that this is the case. When you are in graduate school, you have to be to the point where you can somewhat teach yourself the material as necessary. Once you are out of graduate school, there is no longer a professor to hold your hand and lead you along to the correct solution. You need to be able to find the answers for yourself.
I say all of this with the acknowledgement that some professors are stuck in their ways and that just building rapport and supplementing your in class experience with personal study outside of the classroom will not always change how a professor teaches. Note of course that if a professor does not respond at all to his students trying to engage with him, he is extremely unlikely to respond positively to a stern lecture from students or administrators about his sub-par teaching.
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
The best approach to a situation such as this is definitely not to bluntly tell him "I think you are doing a poor job teaching this course. You need to try harder."
Building rapport with this professor may go a long way to encouraging him to "do better." From the perspective of the professor, I always felt more compelled to help students have a positive experience in my class when I knew them and when they made a good faith effort to engage with me in and out of class. Perhaps you could read the material in advance of class and come prepared with some questions to ask in class. After a few times of doing this, the professor will likely come prepared to engage with students a bit more.
From the perspective of a student, I know there are (hopefully rare) times where a professor is overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities, personal issues, burn-out, etc. As a student I had to take it upon myself to learn the material and succeed in the subject. Especially as I matured in my field, I saw that the successful students in my field did not rely on a professor to take them from ground zero to the stratosphere on a subject. The professor ultimately was there to supplement and formalize our learning. As this question is tagged graduate school, I even more emphatically feel that this is the case. When you are in graduate school, you have to be to the point where you can somewhat teach yourself the material as necessary. Once you are out of graduate school, there is no longer a professor to hold your hand and lead you along to the correct solution. You need to be able to find the answers for yourself.
I say all of this with the acknowledgement that some professors are stuck in their ways and that just building rapport and supplementing your in class experience with personal study outside of the classroom will not always change how a professor teaches. Note of course that if a professor does not respond at all to his students trying to engage with him, he is extremely unlikely to respond positively to a stern lecture from students or administrators about his sub-par teaching.
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
The best approach to a situation such as this is definitely not to bluntly tell him "I think you are doing a poor job teaching this course. You need to try harder."
Building rapport with this professor may go a long way to encouraging him to "do better." From the perspective of the professor, I always felt more compelled to help students have a positive experience in my class when I knew them and when they made a good faith effort to engage with me in and out of class. Perhaps you could read the material in advance of class and come prepared with some questions to ask in class. After a few times of doing this, the professor will likely come prepared to engage with students a bit more.
From the perspective of a student, I know there are (hopefully rare) times where a professor is overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities, personal issues, burn-out, etc. As a student I had to take it upon myself to learn the material and succeed in the subject. Especially as I matured in my field, I saw that the successful students in my field did not rely on a professor to take them from ground zero to the stratosphere on a subject. The professor ultimately was there to supplement and formalize our learning. As this question is tagged graduate school, I even more emphatically feel that this is the case. When you are in graduate school, you have to be to the point where you can somewhat teach yourself the material as necessary. Once you are out of graduate school, there is no longer a professor to hold your hand and lead you along to the correct solution. You need to be able to find the answers for yourself.
I say all of this with the acknowledgement that some professors are stuck in their ways and that just building rapport and supplementing your in class experience with personal study outside of the classroom will not always change how a professor teaches. Note of course that if a professor does not respond at all to his students trying to engage with him, he is extremely unlikely to respond positively to a stern lecture from students or administrators about his sub-par teaching.
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
edited 56 mins ago
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
answered 1 hour ago
Vladhagen
4,23611737
4,23611737
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
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 change 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).
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
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 change 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).
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
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 change 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).
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
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 change 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).
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
answered 33 mins ago
xLeitix
92.8k31223369
92.8k31223369
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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