Former Centerburg Local Schools Superintendent Mike Hebenthal, now a school improvement specialist at the Knox Educational Service Center, is set to begin teaching a 10-week adjunct course at Ashland University on artificial intelligence (AI) for educators starting February 18.
Hebenthal has been leading professional development sessions with high school teachers in Knox County, focusing on analyzing end-of-course testing data in core subjects such as English/language arts, American history and government, biology, and algebra. These sessions have also addressed how educators can integrate AI into their teaching methods.
“AI is going to have a profound effect on education, more profound even than the impact computers have had,” Hebenthal said.
His expertise in AI comes from graduate-level coursework and online training. The upcoming university course will focus on helping educators use AI tools to enhance classroom effectiveness. “We will explore how to use AI to teach, how to be more effective in the classroom,” he explained.
Knox ESC Superintendent Dr. Timm Mackley praised Hebenthal’s contributions: “Through Mike, the Knox Educational Service Center is providing professional development opportunities for our district teachers and administrators. I believe it is an incredible opportunity for those who choose to take advantage of it.”
During his work with local teachers, Hebenthal emphasized analyzing state testing results to identify student challenges across schools. “We looked at each school’s data to ask: What areas are students struggling with? School X is not doing so well, while School Y is achieving better results. We shared approaches to testing. And we looked at where we are as a county, based on state data,” he said.
One recurring issue identified was confusing test questions that often present multiple correct answers without clarification. “Some questions have more than one correct answer. In fact, three out of four answers may be correct, but the test doesn’t explain that,” Hebenthal noted. He suggested using five years of state test data to create practice tests that better reflect actual exam conditions.
Hebenthal pointed out that AI already plays a role in grading essays for American history and government assessments in Ohio. “Ohio’s testing rubric and AI combine to create examples of a 10, the maximum score attainable,” he said. “Kids can start to see what good writing looks like and what is required to improve their scores.”
He also highlighted AI's ability to help teachers save time when creating customized materials for students performing at different levels: “For a teacher who may have as many as 100 students a day it would take hours and hours to create worksheets and other materials for each student. With AI, those hours turn into minutes.”
Hebenthal shared his own experiences using AI in lesson planning: “AI makes me creative. It gives me a creative way to develop lessons. It gives me ideas and suggests what supplies and materials I might need.”
Looking ahead, Hebenthal mentioned potential interest from county school treasurers in exploring how AI could support their work processes.
Addressing concerns about job security among educators regarding AI adoption, he said: “Some teachers worry that AI might take their jobs,” he said. “I tell them, AI won’t take your job, but someone who understands AI and how to use it might take your job.”
