A teacher from Jurong Senior High School shares his ideas on STEM education. [Photo/jswmw.com]

East China's Jiangsu province announced guidelines at its second STEM education conference on Sept 27, piloting on STEM courses of local elementary education. 

Prevailing in the US as an education system blending science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM aims to promote integration of multiple curricula and places greater emphasis on students' creativity and problem-solving skills. 

The guidelines, carrying the idea of giving full play to students' potential while setting sights on realities, will cover various aspects of the courses, from their purpose and content, to implementation and feedback. 

Wang Su from the National Institute of Education Sciences, who has years of expertise in STEM studies, said the diversified courses that popped up onto the market in recent years generally had weak connections with school education. Jiangsu's step of setting up specific guidelines would be sure to instruct and regulate the sound development of local STEM education. 

Experts from home and abroad, educators, researchers and teachers have made joint efforts to develop STEM courses covering K-12 education and other frontier scientific and technological areas. A priority was set to increase the number of students who are proficient in these vital fields.