Lecture time is at a premium, so it must be used efficiently. You cannot be taught everything in the classroom. It is your responsibility to learn the material. Much of this learning must take place outside the classroom. You should expect to put in (at least) two hours outside the classroom for each hour of class.
The instructor's job is primarily to provide a framework, with some of the particulars, to guide you in doing your learning of the concepts and methods that comprise the material of the course. It is not to program you with isolated facts and problem types, nor to monitor your progress. You are expected to read the textbook for comprehension. It gives the detailed account of the material of the course. It also contains many examples of the problems worked out, and these should be used to supplement those you see in the lecture. The textbook is not a novel, so the reading must often be slow-going and careful. However, there is the clear advantage that you can read it at your own pace. Use pencil and paper to work through the material and to fill in omitted steps. As for when you engage the textbook, you have the following dichotomy:
Recommended for most students: Read for the fist time the appropriate section(s) of the book before the material is presented in lecture. That is, come prepared for class. Then the faster-paced college-style lecture will make more sense.
If you haven't looked at the book beforehand, try to pick up what you can from the lecture (absorb the general idea and/or take thorough notes) and count on sorting it out later while studying from the book outside of class.
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