It starts with the idea that kids must be trained early to prevail over robots in the workforce. Then it snowballs from there—$3,000 a year for tuition, $350 for a Lego robotics set, and $7,300 to test the newly acquired engineering skills in a competition in the U.S.

That’s what Zhuo Yu is spending on her 10-year-old son for a so-called STEM education in China—a problem-based approach to learning that combines knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The concept created in the U.S. is now stirring a craze across China, where about 10 million students are being fast-tracked for STEM success.