Abstract The study describes and analyses the implementation and development of the real-life-oriented pedagogical action process as a method of work to intervene in exclusion from education from the viewpoints of the teacher, pupils and various interest groups. The actual group of subjects consisted of 74 Oulu pupils in the Tuomontupa class in the years 1992–1998. The pupils aged 15 to 17 had dropped out or were about to do so and had been moved to a special class for education for the maladjusted. 23 of the students were girls and 51 were boys. The number of boys was more than double that of girls. The research site was the Tuomontupa class that functioned in a learning environment that was not school-like in the town's work training centre. The actual purpose of the study was to describe the RLO pedagogical action process implemented in special class teaching among young people aged 15–17 who were threatened by exclusion from education. In addition to this, the realization and development of real-life-oriented pedagogical action in the case of young people near exclusion was also studied. From the theoretical and educational philosophical points of view, the research analysed the connections of the real-life-oriented pedagogical action process to social pedagogical thinking and tradition of action and to reform pedagogy. The study was carried out as a social pedagogical action study in which the data was gathered using various research methods. The methods included ethnographic observation and interpretation as well as social pedagogical participatory action research. Field data consisted of interview data, pupil transfer documents and other documents, participatory observation, pupils' essays, meeting memoranda and comparative statistical data on the pupils' school performance. Triangulation was used in an attempt to observe the research object in a comprehensive manner. The research results show that a real-life-oriented pedagogical action process can have an impact on young people's exclusion from education. The real-life-oriented process helped to produce educational and pedagogical experiences that were felt to be positive by the young people, reinforcing the subjects' ability to think and act in the same way in similar situations in the future. The pupils' absences were reduced remarkably, and their grade averages improved. 63 pupils out of 74 in the research sample managed to complete the targets set for lower secondary education in one year, while 11 needed a longer time to complete school. Out of the 63 pupils who completed lower secondary education, 46 or 73% were subsequently selected to a senior secondary program. The research data also reveals the three critical phases when to intervene in exclusion from education. The first critical phase was attachment to education, while the second phase was the corrective phase and the third phase was constituted by the linking phase. It was also possible to fail in any of these phases of intervention. The research showed that it is possible to intervene in exclusion from education, and it does not require an enormous amount of special resources, provided that the various administrative units are called together to co-operate in a tangible way. Pupils in need of special support need flexible, comprehensive and individual opportunities to meet the school's requirements. Diversified and developing special class teaching still has a well-justified position in this work as one of the ways in which the school works. The study shows that a comprehensive real-life-oriented pedagogical action process is connected with social pedagogical working practices as a form of interventive action against exclusion from education. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksessa kuvataan ja analysoidaan reaalipedagogisen toimintaprosessin toteutumista ja kehitystä koulutukselliseen syrjäytymiseen puuttuvana interventiivisena työmuotona tarkasteltuna opettajan, oppilaiden ja eri sidosryhmien näkökulmista. Tutkimuksen varsinaisen kohderyhmän muodosti 74 oululaista, Tuomontupa-luokkaa vuosina 1992–1998 käynyttä oppilasta. Oppilaat olivat 15–17-vuotiaita, koulunsa keskeyttäneitä tai keskeyttämässä olevia nuoria, jotka oli siirretty erityisluokalle sopeutumattomien opetukseen. Oppilaista oli tyttöjä 23 ja poikia 51. Poikien määrä oli yli kaksinkertainen verrattuna tyttöjen määrään. Tutkimuspaikan muodosti Tuomontupa-luokka, joka toimi kaupungin työvalmennuskeskuksessa, ei koulumaisessa opiskeluympäristössä. Tutkimuksen varsinaisena tehtävänä oli kuvata koulutuksesta syrjäytymässä olevien 15–17-vuotiaiden nuorten erityisluokkaopetuksessa toteutettua reaalipedagogista toimintaprosessia. Tämän lisäksi tutkittiin reaalipedagogisen toiminnan toteutumista ja kehittymistä koulutuksesta syrjäytymässä olevien nuorten kohdalla. Teoreettisesti ja kasvatusfilosofisesti ajateltuna tutkimuksessa jäsennettiin reaalipedagogisen toimintaprosessin yhteyttä sosiaalipedagogiseen ajatteluun ja toimintaperinteeseen sekä reformipedagogiikkaan. Tutkimus toteutettiin sosiaalipedagogisena toimintatutkimuksena, jossa käytettiin eri tutkimusmenetelmiä tiedon keruuseen. Tutkimusmetodeina käytettiin etnografista havainnointia ja tulkintaa sekä sosiaalipedagogista osallistuvaa toimintatutkimusta. Kenttämateriaali muodostui haastatteluaineistosta, oppilaiden siirtoasiakirjoista ja dokumenteista, osallistuvasta havainnoinnista, oppilaiden kirjoitelmista, kokousmuistioista ja oppilaiden koulusuoritusten tilastollisesta vertailuaineistosta. Toteutetun triangulaation avulla pyrittiin hahmottamaan kokonaisvaltaisesti tutkittavaa kohdetta. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että reaalipedagogisen toimintaprosessin avulla voidaan puuttua nuorten koulutukselliseen syrjäytymiseen. Reaalipedagogisen toimintaprosessin avulla luotiin nuorille myönteisiä kasvatuksellisia ja pedagogisia kokemuksia, jotka vahvistivat tutkittavien nuorten kykyä ajatella ja toimia samankaltaisissa tilanteissa tulevaisuudessa samoin. Oppilaiden poissaolot vähenivät merkittävästi ja keskiarvot paranivat. Tutkimusaineiston oppilaista 63 oppilasta 74:stä pystyi yhden vuoden aikana suoriutumaan peruskoulun oppitavoitteista ja 11 tarvitsi pitemmän ajan koulusta suoriutumiseen. Peruskoulunsa suorittaneista 63 oppilaasta pääsi jatkokoulutukseen 46 eli 73 %. Tutkimusaineisto osoittaa myös koulutuksellisen syrjäytymisen intervention kolme kriittistä vaihetta. Ensimmäisen kriittisen vaiheen muodosti koulutukseen kiinnittämisvaihe, toisen kriittisen vaiheen muodosti korjaava vaihe ja kolmannen kriittisen vaiheen muodosti niveltämisvaihe. Kaikissa edellisissä intervention vaiheissa oli myös mahdollista epäonnistua. Tutkimuksen mukaan koulutukselliseen syrjäytymiseen voidaan puuttua ja se ei vaadi suunnattomia erillisiä resursseja, kun yhdistetään eri hallintokunnat tekemään konkreettista yhteistyötä. Erityistä tukea tarvitsevat oppilaat tarvitsevat joustavia, kokonaisvaltaisia ja yksilöllisiä mahdollisuuksia suoriutua koulun tavoitteista. Tässä työssä monimuotoisella ja kehittyvällä erityisluokkaopetuksella on edelleen perusteltu sijansa koululaitoksen yhtenä toimintamuotona. Tutkimus osoittaa kokonaisvaltaisen reaalipedagogisen toimintaprosessin liittyvän sosiaalipedagogiseen työkäytäntöön koulutuksellisen syrjäytymiseen puuttuvana interventiivisenä toimintana.

During the last couple of years several studies have been conducted to investigate how children move and position during car rides. This in order to map when, and for how long children sit in positions that are not safe as well as to identify the reason for these movements. One of the conclusions is that children do not always sit comfortable in today’s belt-positioning boosters and thereby they chose positions that are unwanted for safety reasons. The aim for the master thesis has thereby been to improve seating comfort for children while traveling safely in the rear seat of a car. The target group has been children in ages 5-11 years old with body height 110-145 cm, a Swedish population 50 percentile has been used for the extreme dimensions. The master thesis process is divided in three phases; Discovery, Development and Testing and Evaluation. In the Discovery phase information in the areas child safety, child methodology and comfort was gathered through literature study, interviews with experts, benchmarking and a focus group with parents. As a final step customer needs were formulated. In the Development phase a workshop with children was initially performed to complement the customer needs with inputs from the users. The customer needs were afterwards reformulated into a specification of requirements and five comfort hypotheses. Finally a prototype was developed, designed from the requirements with the purpose to validate the comfort hypotheses, using an anthropometric design method (Osvalder, et al., 2010). In the final phase, Testing and Evaluation, the prototype and reference belt-positioning boosters were evaluated by children in two user studies; one static study and one on road study, to evaluate comfort features and try out different seating comfort evaluation methods. The result is divided into child seating comfort characteristics and child seating comfort methodology guidelines. To assist future development of belt-positioning boosters, seven comfort features are defined to help children ride comfortable in a safe position in the car. Furthermore, 13 child methodology guidelines are formulated to help further seating comfort evaluation with children. Conclusively to make children sit comfortable and safe positioned in the car they should be seated in a belt-positioning booster with headrest, backrest, seat cushion and foot support, the supporting parts need to be perceived as soft around head, back and under the buttock and all parts need to be dimensioned for all children in the target group. The size of the belt-positioning booster and the combination of foam thickness, foam hardness and shape are the main factors for affecting the perceived seating comfort. Furthermore, children shall be included as both design partners and testers during the development of belt-positioning boosters. During the prototype development static comfort evaluation with children should be done repeatedly to verify measurements, shape and foam hardness. To evaluate comfort both static evaluation and on road evaluation should be performed since comfort varies over time. Data should be collected subjectively from children through quantitative methods, such as rating scales, and qualitative methods, such as general questions regarding comfort/discomfort experience. Video observations can identify children’s position during car rides. Different positions can be timed and together with subjective data reasons for repositioning can be identified.

In our presentation we will show how technology enables us to improve the teaching and learning of linear functions at the middle school level. Through various classroom activities that involve technology such as dynamic geometry software, graphing calculators and Excel, students explore functions and discover basic facts about them on their own. Students then work with real life data and on real life problems to draw graphs and form linear models that correspond to given situations as well as draw inferences based on their models. Participants will receive complete classroom materials for the unit on linear functions.

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Le but de cette étude est de comprendre les relations que la personnalité proactive des membres d’une équipe de travail peut avoir avec la créativité et l’innovation de cette équipe. Pour ce faire, cette étude se concentrera sur le rôle médiateur du leadership partagé dans ces relations. Cette recherche vise également à comprendre le rôle modérateur de la confiance interpersonnelle dans l’équipe de travail sur la relation entre la personnalité proactive et le partage du leadership. De plus, cette étude se déroule dans le cadre des équipes de travail par projet. Les données utilisées sont de types secondaires et furent colligées lors de simulations « Pegasus » auprès de 1 016 participants regroupés en 198 équipes de travail de 4 à 6 membres. Ces données ont été recueillies grâce à des questionnaires auprès de deux sources, à savoir les membres des équipes et un observateur. Des analyses de régression hiérarchiques et des analyses structurelles (path analysis) ont permis de vérifier les cinq hypothèses proposées dans cette étude. Les résultats obtenus dénotent que la personnalité proactive est reliée significativement au leadership partagé mais n’est pas reliée à la créativité et l’innovation. Le leadership partagé est aussi relié significativement à l’innovation et la créativité. D’ailleurs, les résultats obtenus permettent de corroborer le rôle médiateur du leadership partagé sur la relation entre la personnalité proactive et la créativité et l’innovation. Le rôle modérateur de la confiance interpersonnelle sur la relation entre la personnalité proactive et le leadership partagé n’est pas supporté. La contribution de la présente étude au domaine des relations industrielles est de contribuer à lever le voile sur les processus menant à l’innovation et la créativité dans les équipes de travail par projet ainsi que de reconnaître le rôle central du leadership partagé dans celui-ci. Sur le plan pratique, les résultats obtenus permettent d’appuyer l’importance à accorder à la proactivité et au leadership partagé pour améliorer la créativité et l’innovation dans les équipes de travail. / The aim of this study is to understand the relationships between employee’s proactive personality and the creativity and innovation of their work team. To do so, this study will focus on the mediating role of shared leadership in these relationships. This research also aims to understand the moderating role of interpersonal trust on the relationship between proactive personality and shared leadership. In addition, this study is taking place within the framework of project teams. The data used are of secondary types and were collected during “Pegasus” simulations involving 1,016 participants, 1st cycle graduates from HEC students, grouped into 198 work teams of 4 to 6 members. These data were collected through questionnaires from two sources, namely team members and an observer. The five hypotheses proposed in this study were verified through hierarchical regressions path analysis. The results obtained show that the proactive personality is significantly related to shared leadership but is not related to creativity and innovation. Shared leadership is also significantly linked to innovation and creativity. Moreover, the results obtained attest to a mediating effect of shared leadership on the relationship between proactive personality and creativity and innovation. The moderating effect of the latter is not supported by the results obtained. The contribution of this study to the field of industrial relations is to help lift the veil on the processes leading to innovation and creativity in project teams as well as to recognize the central role of shared leadership in it. On a practical level, the results obtained support the importance of proactivity and shared leadership as key-factors to improve creativity and innovation in work teams.

Cotutelle avec l'Université de Poitiers, France / Lors du processus de création d’une image de synthèse photoréaliste, l’objectif principal recherché est de reproduire le transport de la lumière dans un environnement virtuel, en prenant en compte aussi précisément que possible les caractéristiques des objets de la scène 3D. Dans la perception de notre environnement, les détails très fins ont une grande importance sur l’apparence des objets, tels que des rayures sur un morceau de métal, des particules dans du vernis, ou encore les fibres d'un tissu. Il est primordial de pouvoir les reproduire à tout niveau d'échelle. Créer ces détails grâce à des informations géométriques, par exemple un maillage, mène à une trop forte complexité en termes de construction, de stockage, de manipulation et de temps de rendu. Il est donc nécessaire d’utiliser des modèles mathématiques qui permettent d’approcher au mieux les comportements lumineux induits par ces détails. Le travail de cette thèse s'inscrit dans cette problématique de gestion des détails fins par la théorie des microfacettes. En particulier, nous nous sommes intéressés à la notion de masquage-ombrage permettant de calculer la proportion de surface qui est à la fois visible de l’observateur et éclairée. Pour cela, nous étudions le modèle théorique proposé par Smith et par Ashikhmin et al. dans lequel la représentation mathématique est basée sur des contraintes liées à la position des facettes, leur orientation, leur aire et les corrélations entre ces caractéristiques. Nous avons éprouvé le modèle sur plus de 400 maillages 3D reconstruits à partir de surfaces réelles qui ne respectent pas nécessairement les contraintes imposées du modèle. Quelques maillages sont également générés à partir de distributions des orientations de microfacettes de Beckmann et GGX largement utilisées dans les moteurs de simulation académiques et industriels. Pour chacun des maillages, une fonction de masquage de référence est mesurée grâce à un algorithme de tracer de rayons. Nous pouvons ainsi comparer le masquage réel d'une microsurface prenant en compte la donnée dans son entièreté, à son masquage théorique calculé seulement par la distribution de ses micronormales. Cette étude met en évidence un lien entre l'erreur du masquage théorique et certaines caractéristiques de la microsurface, telles que sa rugosité, son anisotropie, ou le non respect des contraintes du modèle. Nous proposons une méthode pour développer un modèle prédictif de l'erreur calculable à partir de ces caractéristiques et sans avoir recours au lourd processus de tracer de rayons. L’analyse montre également le lien entre l'erreur au niveau du terme de masquage et sa répercussion dans le rendu final d'une image de synthèse. La possibilité de prédire l'erreur grâce à un processus rapide permet d'estimer la complexité de l'usage d'une microgéométrie dans un rendu photoréaliste. Nous complétons nos travaux en proposant un facteur correctif au masquage théorique pour les surfaces isotropes, là encore calculable directement à partir des caractéristiques du maillage. Nous montrons le gain de précision que cette correction apporte, tant au niveau du masquage lui-même qu'au niveau des rendus d'images de synthèse. La thèse est conclue avec une discussion présentant les limites actuelles de notre étude et ses perspectives futures. / During the creation process of a photorealistic image, the main goal is to reproduce light transport in a virtual environment by considering as accurately as possible the characteristics of the surfaces from the 3D scene. In the real world, very fine details may have a tremendous impact on the visual aspect. For instance, scratches over metal, particles within varnish, or fibers of a fabric, will visually alter surface appearance. It is therefore crucial to be able to simulate such effects at every level of detail. However, creating such microgeometry for a given 3D mesh is a complex task that results in very high memory requirements and computation time. Mathematical models must be used to approximate as precisely as possible light effects produced by these details. This thesis considers fine details from the microfacet theory, and in particular, the masking-shadowing factor that corresponds to the proportion of microsurfaces that are both visible and illuminated. We study the commonly used theoretical model of Smith and Ashikhmin et al. where the mathematical representation is derived from constraints about microfacets positions, orientations, areas, and correlations between those characteristics. The proposed model has been confronted to more than 400 3D meshes, built from real-world measured surfaces that do not necessarily fulfill the theory constraints. Some of them have also been generated from the widely used Beckmann and GGX distributions. For each mesh, the ground-truth masking effect is measured using ray tracing, and compared with the theoretical masking computed only from the distribution of micronormals. Our study highlights a connection between the theoretical masking's error and some microsurface's characteristics, such as roughness, anisotropy, or non-compliance with required constraints. We provide a method for deriving a predictive model for this error. The mesh characteristics are sufficient to compute this model without requiring heavy ray tracing computation. Our analysis shows how the masking error impacts the rendering process. We also derive a model capable of predicting rendering errors from surface characteristics. With the opportunity to predict the error with a fast computation from a 3D mesh, one can estimate the complexity to use a given microgeometry for a photorealistic rendering. Our study concludes with the formulation of a correction function added to the theoretical masking term for isotropic surfaces. This correction is computed directly from the 3D mesh characteristics without any ray tracing involved. We show gains in the accuracy of the model when corrected with our formula, both for the masking effect itself and its impact on the exactness of the renderings. This thesis is concluded with a discussion about the current limitations of our study and some future perspectives.

This study attempted to design and implement an intervention programme to improve the self-concepts and attitudes of prospective primary school teachers. The possible effects of the programme were researched by means of a combined quantitative and qualitative approach. A questionnaire to determine the effectiveness of the programme was also designed. Important findings of this study are that: (a) the Cronbach Alpha Coefficient indicated a 0,9 reliability of the designed questionnaire; (b) the average self-concepts of prospective teachers improved after the intervention programme was implemented, though not significantly and (c) the self-concepts of prospective teachers not majoring in Mathematics also improved after the intervention, though not significantly. A focus group interview was conducted to improve the intervention programme. On the basis of the responses of the participants in the focus group interview as well as of the quantitative study and of the literature reviewed, an improved version of the intervention programme was designed. According to the research, the programme should include: cooperative learning; everyday life contexts; manipulatives; hands-on activities, encouraging the asking of questions; a positive relationship between lecturer and student; writing assignments before doing a new topic; content relevance; a positive communication of assessment; games; various approaches to solving problems; understandable language; gender sensitivity and positive role modeling. The intervention programme implemented in this study was tested over a period of three months; hence the recommendation in this research for the replication thereof over a longer period. The study further recommends that since the study was conducted in one college of education only, there is a need for it to be conducted in a number of colleges, in order to elicit a broader and more representative picture of the impact of the intervention programme. The findings of this study advocate the need to combine both quantitative and qualitative research in studies: the results of the quantitative research did not conclusively indicate a positive impact of the intervention programme. However, the qualitative research saw respondents expressing improved confidence and attitudes. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The researcher wants to create a learning environment where learners are much more involved in their own learning. The progressive teaching design implies that the contribution of the learner to the development of knowledge is recognised. The educator also acknowledges the learner as a social being reliant on interaction with others to generate meaning. The problem statement for this study is based on the researcher’s opinion that In South African schools rote learning and memorisation are still the main methods of learning. The reason for this is because the majority of educators have been schooled in the traditional educational paradigm where the teaching process essentially revolves around the educator. In such a system learners who can recall facts best and obtain the best grades are regarded as having learnt well. The researcher contests the assertion that the learners learnt authentically. The progressive teaching approach is proffered by the educator as an alternative for the attainment of authentic learning in a grade 10 Economics classroom. In an authentic learning environment learners are prepared to face challenges in the real world through the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Learners collaborate and cooperate as members of a group to unravel problems. The researcher makes use of a qualitative research design for this study. The grade 10 Economics class of the researcher is used a case study to ascertain whether a progressive teaching approach can enhance authentic learning. Twelve learners out 26 that indicated that they would participate eventually took part in the study. The research instruments used were the video recorded lessons, teacher observation sheets and learner focused-group interviews. One of the findings from the study was that authentic learning skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking can be developed through the educator using the progressive teaching approach. This is in line with the principles of the CAPS for Economics. Another finding is that although more learner involvement is required for the progressive approach, the role of the educator remains crucial as a knowledge expert and a facilitator in the classroom. A further finding was that learners embraced the co-operative learning strategy which is one of the fundamentals of authentic learning. They enjoyed teaching to and learning from one another in group work. Finally, learners appreciated the use of cartoons and team-games by the progressive educator as additional strategies to further authenticate and enhance the learning experience. In summary the researcher wants to contend that from the literature study, the findings of the empirical research and the recommendation of this study that by working within the parameters of the CAPS for Economics, authentic learning can be achieved via a progressive teaching design. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of context-based problem solving instruction (CBPSI) on the problem solving performance of Grade 10 learners, who performed poorly in mathematics. A cognitive load theory (CLT) was used to frame the study. In addition, CLT was used to: 1) facilitate the interpretation and explanation of participants‟ problem solving performance; and, 2) influence the design of CBPSI to hone participants‟ problem solving skills. The study was conducted in the Gauteng province of South Africa and involved a two-week intervention program in each of the nine participating high schools. Participants consisted of 783 learners and four Grade 10 mathematics teachers. A non-equivalent control group design was employed, consisting of a pre- and post- measure. In addition, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers and learners. Teachers employed conventional problem solving instructions in four control schools while the researcher implemented CBPSI in five experimental schools. Instruction in experimental schools entailed several worked-out context-based problem solving examples given to participants in worksheets. The main aspects of CBPSI embraced elements of the effects of self-explanation and split-attention, as advocated by CLT. Due to the design of CBPSI participants in experimental schools became familiar with the basic context-based problem solving tasks that were presented to them through the worked-out example samples. In turn, the associated cognitive load of problem solving tasks was gradually reduced. The principal instrument for data collection was a standardized Functional Mathematics Achievement Test. The pre-test determined participants‟ initial problem solving status before intervention. A post-test was given at the end of intervention to benchmark change in the functionality of CBPSI over a two-week period. Using one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and other statistical techniques the study found that participants in experimental schools performed significantly better than participants in control schools on certain aspects of problem solving performance. In addition, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations revealed that participants rated CBPSI highly. On the whole, the study showed that CBPSI is an effective instructional tool to enhance the problem solving performance of Grade 10 mathematics learners. / Mathematics Education / D. Phil. (Mathematics, Science and Technology Education)

Brandmän arbetar i situationer av stark osäkerhet och risk. Ett fungerande lagarbete är en förutsättning för att de ska kunna hantera de faror som förekommer vid olyckor, samordna sin verksamhet, rädda byggnader och fordon, ta hand om drabbade människor och även undvika att själva bli skadade. Blivande brandmän måste alltså lära sig arbetssätt som inbegriper både samordning, interaktion och individuella insatser i en mycket speciell och krävande arbetsmiljö. Denna studie bygger på deltagande observationer och intervjuer inom den tvååriga yrkesutbildningen Skydd Mot Olyckor. I fokus står hur studenterna i komplexa insatsövningar lär sig en praktisk förståelse av lagarbetet i sitt kommande yrke. Studien analyserar hur övningarna organiseras som en samtidig rekonstruktion och simulering av operativa arbetsuppgifter. Skolans övningsverksamhet ses alltså som en del av ett bredare lärandefält och med nära relationer till räddningstjänstens operativa verksamhet. I studien ges en detaljerad bild av hur övningarna genomförs samt av hur studenterna lär sig skapa kontroll. Det gäller såväl över arbetets materiella villkor och tekniska utrustning som över sociala interaktioner i arbetslaget och emotionella reaktioner på osäkerhet och risk. Studien bygger på ett sociokulturellt lärandeperspektiv med emfas på praktik och lärande av praktisk förståelse. I studien kombineras perspektiv från sociologi och från Science-and-Technology-Studies (STS) för att fånga praktikens sociomateriella dimensioner av teknik, social koordinering och emotioner. / Firefighters work in situations of strong uncertainty and risk. A functional teamwork is a precondition in order for them to handle dangers occurring at accidents, coordinate their activity, saving buildings and vehicles, take care of victims and avoid being hurt themselves. Potential firefighters must learn working methods that involve bringing together efforts, interaction and individual achievements in a very special and demanding work environment. The study investigates how students, through their participation in complex reallife simulations of operational work, learn a practical understanding of firefighting practice. The study draws on participant observations and interviews within the two-year firefighter’s vocational training program, Skydd mot olyckor. The study analyzes how exercises are organized simultaneously as reconstruction and simulation of operational tasks. The training program is seen as part of a larger learning field with close ties to firefighting practice. The study gives a detailed account of how exercises are conducted and of how students learn to achieve control in and through work. That includes material conditions and equipment as well as social interaction within the team and emotional reactions on uncertainty and risk. The study uses a socio-cultural learning perspective with an emphasis on practice and practical understanding. Perspectives from sociology and Science-and-Technology-Studies (STS) are combined to capture the socio-material dimensions of the specific practice studied, including technology, social coordination and emotions.