Learn Hardcore German: In unserer Ausbildung lernen wir, wie man ruhig bleibt, auch wenn der Stress groß ist. - In our training we learn how to stay calm even when the stress is high.

In this sentence, In unserer Ausbildung means “during / in the course of our training” – that’s a situation, not movement towards something. So you need the dative:

feminine noun die Ausbildung
dative singular feminine → der Ausbildung
with possessive unser- → unserer Ausbildung

So: In unserer Ausbildung = in our training (as a setting).

Why is it unserer Ausbildung and not unser Ausbildung or unserem Ausbildung?

unser- is a possessive determiner (like our) and it must follow the case, gender, and number of the noun:

Noun: Ausbildung (feminine, singular)
Preposition: in (with a static meaning → dative case)
Dative singular feminine has the article der (not die)

Possessives behave like the ein- words:

Nominative feminine: unsere Ausbildung
Accusative feminine: unsere Ausbildung
Dative feminine: unserer Ausbildung

So unserer is exactly the dative feminine form that corresponds to der.

Why is the word order In unserer Ausbildung lernen wir and not In unserer Ausbildung wir lernen?

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule (V2):

The conjugated verb must be in second position.
“Second” means “second element”, not second word.

Here, In unserer Ausbildung is one element (a prepositional phrase) moved to the front for emphasis. After that, the verb must come:

In unserer Ausbildung → element 1
lernen → element 2 (finite verb)
wir → element 3 (subject)

So the correct word order is:

In unserer Ausbildung lernen wir …

If you start with the subject, you can also say:

Wir lernen in unserer Ausbildung …

Both are correct; the difference is just emphasis and style.

What exactly is the structure …, wie man ruhig bleibt, …? Is wie here “how” or “like”?

Here wie means “how” and introduces a subordinate clause that functions as the object of lernen:

lernen (was?) → learn (what?)
…, wie man ruhig bleibt … → how one stays calm

So the structure is:

lernen
- wie-clause (subordinate clause)

Because it is a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb (bleibt) goes to the end of that clause:

wie man ruhig bleibt

It is not the comparative wie (“like/as” in so groß wie). Here it’s the interrogative wie (“how”) used to form an indirect question-like clause.

Why does the sentence switch from wir to man? Why not say …, wie wir ruhig bleiben …?

German often uses man as an impersonal pronoun, similar to English “one”, or informal “you/people”:

man = people in general, anyone, one

In this sentence the speaker says:

lernen wir, wie man ruhig bleibt
→ we learn how one stays calm / how people stay calm

This sounds more general and impersonal than …, wie wir ruhig bleiben, which would focus specifically on our group and our way of staying calm.

You could say:

In unserer Ausbildung lernen wir, wie wir ruhig bleiben, …

That is grammatically correct, but it puts the focus on us rather than on a general skill that can apply to anyone.

Why is it bleibt and not bleiben in wie man ruhig bleibt?

Because wie man ruhig bleibt is a full subordinate clause with its own subject and finite verb:

Subject: man
Conjugated verb: bleibt (3rd person singular, present)

In subordinate clauses with wie, dass, wenn, etc., German uses a conjugated verb at the end:

…, wie man ruhig bleibt.
…, dass man ruhig bleibt.

Bleiben (infinitive) is used in different structures, e.g.:

Wir lernen, ruhig zu bleiben.
(We learn to stay calm.)

There, ruhig zu bleiben is an infinitive clause, not a subordinate clause introduced by wie.

Could you also say Wir lernen, ruhig zu bleiben, auch wenn der Stress groß ist? Is there a difference?

Yes, that is correct, and the difference is mostly in style and focus:

Wir lernen, ruhig zu bleiben, …
→ infinitive clause (we learn to stay calm…)
Wir lernen, wie man ruhig bleibt, …
→ wie-clause (we learn how one stays calm…)

Nuances:

ruhig zu bleiben describes directly what you’re learning to do.
wie man ruhig bleibt focuses more on the method / way of staying calm.

Both are natural; the original version sounds a bit more explanatory (“how to do it”), the zu + infinitive version a bit more compact.

Why is there a comma before wie and before auch wenn?

In German, you must put a comma before most subordinate clauses.

…, lernen wir, wie man ruhig bleibt, …
- wie man ruhig bleibt is a subordinate clause → comma before wie
…, auch wenn der Stress groß ist.
- auch wenn der Stress groß ist is also a subordinate clause (introduced by auch wenn) → comma before auch wenn

Rule of thumb: If a clause starts with dass, weil, wenn, obwohl, wie (in this use), etc., and has the verb at the end, it almost always needs a comma before it.

What does auch wenn mean exactly, and how is it different from wenn or selbst wenn?

wenn alone can mean:
- when(ever) (repeated events)
- if (condition)
auch wenn strengthens it to “even if / even when”, highlighting a contrast:
- auch wenn der Stress groß ist
  → even when the stress is high
selbst wenn is very similar to auch wenn, often a bit stronger:
- selbst wenn der Stress groß ist
  → even if the stress is high (still…)

In this sentence, auch wenn conveys: We stay calm *even in spite of high stress.*

Why is it der Stress groß ist and not something like der große Stress ist or den Stress ist groß?

Inside auch wenn der Stress groß ist, der Stress is the subject of the verb ist:

Subject in the nominative case → der Stress (masculine nominative singular)
Verb: ist
Predicate adjective: groß

As a predicate adjective (after sein), groß does not take an ending:

Der Stress ist groß. (not großer)
Die Aufgabe ist schwer.
Die Leute sind freundlich.

Der große Stress would be an attributive adjective (in front of the noun), used differently, e.g.:

Auch wenn der große Stress da ist, …
(Even when the big stress is there, … – sounds a bit unusual in style.)

So here the natural form is der Stress groß ist.

What is the nuance of ruhig bleiben? How is it different from still bleiben or entspannt bleiben?

ruhig bleiben
= to stay calm / composed
Refers mainly to emotional and behavioral calmness: not panicking, not overreacting.
still bleiben
= to stay quiet / not make noise or not move
Often used with children, animals, or in physical contexts:
- Bleib still! = Don’t move! / Be quiet!
entspannt bleiben
= to stay relaxed
Focuses more on lack of tension or stress, physically or mentally.

In this sentence, because it’s about stress, ruhig bleiben is exactly what you want: keeping calm under pressure.

Why is the present tense used (lernen, bleibt, ist)? Does it mean right now or generally?

German Präsens (present tense) is used both for:

Actions happening now
General truths, routines, ongoing processes

Here it’s about an ongoing, general situation:

In unserer Ausbildung lernen wir …
→ During our training program (in general / over time), we learn …
…, wie man ruhig bleibt, auch wenn der Stress groß ist.
→ describes a general ability or principle.

So the present tense here is generic, similar to English:

We learn how to stay calm, even when the stress is high.