How Brilliant works in real classrooms

Brilliant works in real classrooms as a flexible STEM learning platform: teachers use it for prerequisite review, mixed-readiness practice, daily STEM routines, and enrichment for advanced learners.

In these four case studies, schools use the same Brilliant catalog in different ways depending on student need, classroom structure, and teacher goals. The results include high lesson activation rates, sustained independent use, and strong engagement across students who need support, students working at different levels, and students ready to go further.

These examples show Brilliant working as part of a teacher's classroom model: warmups, assigned practice, intervention support, daily STEM routines, enrichment, and independent exploration. The article focuses on how teachers use Brilliant and what engagement looked like in their classrooms, rather than claiming a single model that every school should copy.

Can Brilliant build a daily STEM learning routine? Mr. Morgan's classroom

Setting: Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Indiana, is a large public high school. It serves roughly 3,500 students in grades 9 through 12, making it one of the largest high schools in the state, with a student-teacher ratio of about 20 to 1. Mr. Morgan joined Brilliant for Educators in May 2023.

Classroom need: Mr. Morgan teaches 9th grade Biology, and his students also use Brilliant across math, data, computer science, logic, and science. He wanted a low-friction way to build critical thinking and independent problem solving into every class period, including content outside his own subject. He could not find another online platform with the same range of content coverage.

The fit: Mr. Morgan uses Brilliant as daily bell work, but the routine is doing more than filling the first few minutes of class. It gives students repeated exposure to STEM and problem-solving topics he would not otherwise have time to teach directly.

• Because Hamilton Southeastern uses a block rotation, students use Brilliant roughly every other day.
• Students complete one Brilliant lesson at the start of class and earn a point per day for finishing the lesson.
• Early in the school year, Mr. Morgan assigns specific topics so students build the habit and encounter ideas he wants them to practice. In the second half of the semester, he shifts toward student choice and lets students select their own lessons.
• Students jumped into math, computer science, data, and logic, not only biology.
• Brilliant let him add STEM and critical-thinking topics in what he calls "five-minute increments" before class.

"I use Brilliant for classroom bell work. Students do 1 lesson per day at the beginning of every class period. The platform is a great way for students to get interactive exposure to content that I do not get to teach in my classroom. I have seen students grow in their critical thinking and problem solving… to have the grit to work through it."

The result: Mr. Morgan has added 638 students to Brilliant to date. 95% of them have completed at least one lesson, and 88%, nearly nine in ten, have completed 10 or more. That is a strong number for a tool used as a five-minute daily routine rather than an assigned unit of work. One student completed 1,177 lessons over 29 active weeks, showing how a low-friction classroom routine can turn into sustained, independent exploration well beyond biology.

How can Brilliant support different math levels in one class? Ms. Wisch's classroom

Setting: Islander Middle School is part of Mercer Island School District in Washington State. The school serves about 960 students in grades 6 through 8, with a schoolwide student-teacher ratio of roughly 21 to 1. Ms. Wisch sees 120 students across five class periods. She began using Brilliant after discovering it through her school's MATHCOUNTS enrichment program.

Classroom need: Ms. Wisch teaches four classes of 6th grade math and one class of 7th grade math, about 120 students total. Students may be ready for very different things at any given moment. Before Brilliant, students who finished work early had no good options: left unstructured, they defaulted to playing games on their tablets. Ms. Wisch was initially skeptical that Brilliant would land with her students. Her worry was that it might come across as just another gamified math app, or be too simple to hold middle schoolers' attention.

The fit: She piloted Brilliant with a single class first, in her words, "to see if they'll bite." Once students realized it was more substantial than they expected, they bought in, partly because the gamified format felt familiar to other resources they had used in the past.

• She uses Brilliant for warmups.
• Students use it for early-finisher work instead of defaulting to games.
• She assigns lessons tied to the current unit.
• She uses Brilliant during intervention time when students need more practice.
• The same class can include students reviewing a skill, practicing the current topic, or exploring something more advanced.

"This is my third year using Brilliant and every year I've found more ways to incorporate it. I use it as warm-up activity and for early finishers. Students are engaged because lessons are short and interactive. The gamified nature helps motivate students to keep practicing. I think it would engage students who think they can't do math... and help all students take risks."

The result: 98% of Ms. Wisch's 120 students have completed at least one lesson, and the overall pace is intentionally light: this is not a full class-period replacement. That matches how she actually uses it, as a warmup, early-finisher resource, and intervention-time support. Inside that light-touch pattern, individual students still go deep. One student with a history of school avoidance became one of Ms. Wisch's most engaged users, completing 216 lessons in just three active weeks and working through Brilliant computer science lessons like Thinking in Code independently, outside of any assignment.

How does Brilliant help students rebuild missing foundations? Ms. Shaw's classroom

Setting: Polk County Juvenile Detention Center in Des Moines, Iowa, serves students whose schooling has often been interrupted. Ms. Shaw teaches through Heartland AEA's Shelter Care Educational Program, which provides schooling for at-risk youth who have been placed or referred by Iowa's juvenile court system. She has used Brilliant with students since September 2020.

Classroom need: Ms. Shaw teaches math to students in grades 6 through 12, working anywhere from middle school math through Algebra 2. Students enter and leave the classroom on unpredictable timelines, so large-group instruction is rarely possible. She needs curriculum that is adaptable to the ever-changing class rosters and ability levels.

The fit: Brilliant gives Ms. Shaw a flexible environment students can use individually, in small groups, or projected on screen while she teaches alongside it.

• Students can work on the specific prerequisite skill they are missing, such as fractions or coordinate plane practice.
• Ms. Shaw can point a student directly to a relevant lesson without needing the whole group to be on the same topic.
• She calls the Solving Equations course her go-to for teaching the language of algebra.
• Students earn credit toward their school points based on effort and participation.
• The visual explanations and low-pressure retry structure help students experience success.

"Brilliant is the best website because it is visual. It moves fast and helps them learn quickly. It gives explanations when a student gets something wrong. You wouldn't believe what that does for kids who've had a lot of failures in school. Just to have success."

The result: Ms. Shaw has invited 159 students to Brilliant to date, and 91% of them have completed at least one lesson. Given how unpredictable her classroom population is, with students cycling in and out of detention on their own timelines, that activation rate is a strong signal that students can begin using Brilliant even without the sustained, weeks-long access a typical classroom gets. One student, working intensively during a short stay, completed 1,467 lessons, a pace of more than 150 lessons a week.

Can Brilliant challenge advanced students? Ms. Luna's classroom

Setting: Mirman School is a private school for gifted students in Los Angeles, California, serving grades K through 8. The school is small by design, with roughly 400 to 420 students and a student-teacher ratio of about 6 to 1.

Classroom need: Ms. Luna teaches 5th through 8th grade Pre-Algebra, Geometry, and Competitive Math. Her students are often ready to go well beyond standard grade-level expectations, and a typical curriculum does not stretch far enough for them.

The fit: Ms. Luna uses Brilliant in two connected ways: assigning lessons that extend her current curriculum, and letting students explore other courses once they are ready to go further.

• Students use Brilliant for curriculum-connected assignments.
• Students can also explore other courses based on their interests and readiness.
• Brilliant gives advanced learners a path into rigorous topics without requiring a custom lesson plan for every student interest.
• Ms. Luna recommends that teachers work through lessons themselves because it gives them new ways to explain concepts they already teach.

"I use brilliant.org to supplement and extend what students are learning in class. I assign Brilliant lessons related to my curriculum, and I also let students explore whatever other courses they are interested in. Aside from assigning lessons to students, I recommend teachers work through the lessons themselves to enhance conceptual understanding and gain insights into ways of teaching or explaining concepts."

The result: 99% of Ms. Luna's 133 students have completed at least one lesson, the highest activation rate of all four classrooms. More than half have completed 50 lessons or more, also the highest share of deeply engaged students in the group. For a school built around students who need more than the standard curriculum offers, that depth of use is the clearest evidence that Brilliant is meeting the need. One student has completed 1,740 lessons, more than any student across all four case studies.

What these examples show

These four classrooms use Brilliant in different ways because they have different instructional needs. The pattern is consistent: the teacher chooses the routine, and Brilliant provides flexible lessons students can start quickly, revisit independently, and use at different levels.

• For students rebuilding foundations, Brilliant gives a teacher-guided path back to prerequisite concepts without making students feel like they are being sent backward.
• For mixed-readiness math classes, Brilliant gives students meaningful work at different levels while the teacher stays in control of the classroom goal.
• For large public-school classes, Brilliant can become a predictable daily STEM routine that students start independently while exploring topics beyond the teacher's main subject.
• For advanced learners, Brilliant gives teachers rigorous extension options without requiring a custom lesson plan for every student interest.

Frequently asked questions

How do teachers use Brilliant in classrooms?

Teachers use Brilliant in several classroom models: warmups, early-finisher work, assigned practice, intervention support, daily STEM routines, enrichment, and independent exploration. The case studies above show teachers using Brilliant in short routines as well as in more teacher-guided settings.

Can Brilliant support students at different readiness levels?

Yes. Brilliant can support students who need prerequisite review, students practicing the current class topic, and students ready for more advanced work. In these examples, teachers use Brilliant for targeted support in a detention-center classroom, mixed-readiness middle school math classes, and enrichment for gifted students.

Is Brilliant a core curriculum, supplement, intervention, or enrichment resource?

In these examples, Brilliant is used for intervention support, differentiated practice, enrichment, and a daily STEM learning routine. Teachers use it in different ways depending on the class goal and how much structure they want to provide. For more on classroom models, see How Brilliant fits into a math lesson and Is Brilliant a core curriculum, supplement, intervention, or enrichment resource?

Can teachers assign Brilliant lessons and monitor student progress?

Yes. Teachers can assign Brilliant lessons and use student activity to understand participation and progress. In the examples above, teachers use assignments, completion expectations, and lesson activity to support classroom routines. For more detail, see Can teachers assign Brilliant lessons and monitor student progress?

Teacher quotes in this article come from Brilliant for Educators testimonials shared with permission.