Ethics Learning
Signature Course No. 14 — A Signature AI Socratic Coaching Course.
A New Kind of Learning
Socratic coaching, delivered by an agentic AI coach.
Not a course you watch. An AI coach you work with.
The Lighthouse Coach begins by discovering how you think about the subject, teaches what is missing, and gives you realistic practice before asking you to prove that you can use it. You may test out of concepts you already understand, while capstones turn the learning into a practical plan, decision, conversation, or other real-world result.
The curriculum is deliberately authored; the AI delivers it through coaching. It is not an AI randomly generating lessons.
A coach that teaches by asking — not by lecturing
The Lighthouse Coach is an AI Socratic coach built on Cognosco Learning's Ethics Learning course. It does not play videos at you. It holds a conversation: it asks you a question, listens to your answer, names the misconception it hears, affirms what you got right, and asks the next question — the way a great coach works in the room.
Ethical lapses rarely begin as a single dramatic choice; they grow out of small compromises in the gray areas, made under ordinary pressure.
This course works in that order: see clearly first, then act well. Module 1, Seeing Clearly: Dilemmas, Compromises, and the Gray Areas (Concepts 1–9), teaches you to recognize an ethical issue while it is still small — conflicts of interest, rationalizations, the pressure to stay silent, and the difference between what is permitted and what is right.
Module 2, Acting With Integrity: Decisions, Speaking Up, and Your Code (Concepts 10–18), applies principled decision-making frameworks to those gray areas, covers legal and regulatory compliance basics in general terms, builds the courage and the method to speak up when something is not right, and helps you foster a team culture where honesty and accountability are the norm.
You finish by writing your own personal code of ethics — not a poster, a working code you have tested against hard cases. You can type your answers, or talk out loud: the Voice Coach speaks its questions and listens to your spoken replies, hands-free. The course is self-paced and always on — roughly 30 minutes per concept, about 9 hours in full, taken in as many sittings as you like. Learners who already know the material can test out concept by concept.
Two boundaries, stated plainly.
This course teaches legal and compliance basics in general terms only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice about your specific situation. When a specific legal question comes up — in the course or at work — route it to your company's own Legal or Compliance function; that is where specific legal questions belong, and knowing when to ask them is itself part of the learning.
Second, every scenario in this course is an original invention: all scenarios in the course are original inventions — no real company, scandal, or person is used, named, or depicted. The situations are invented so you can practice honest judgment on the dilemma itself, without a real name attached to it.
This is the fourteenth course in The Lighthouse Signature Series — the online counterpart to the one-day, in-person learning Cognosco Learning has delivered since 2002.
Course Facts
One full concept, coached end to end — free: verify your email and we’ll send you a link to start.
Already enrolled? Enter the course →
Diagnose → Learn & Practice → Prove → Capstone
Every learner moves through the same discipline a Cognosco instructor would insist on in the room.
Diagnose
The Coach starts by finding out what you already know. Everyone begins with Module 1 — no skipping the foundations you only think you have.
Learn & Practice
Work each concept in conversation with the Coach — spoken or written — then practice it against realistic situations until it holds up.
Prove
Every concept ends in proof: answer the check cold and demonstrate the skill. Know it already? Test out and take credit immediately.
Capstone
Finish with two capstones — The Gray File for Module 1 and My Code, In Writing for Module 2 — that pull the whole course together, and earn the certificate.
What You'll Learn
Ethical lapses do not usually start with bad intentions — they start with small compromises that compound over time.
This course is designed to help individuals and teams recognize ethical dilemmas before they escalate, apply principled decision-making frameworks in the gray areas of business, and build a culture where honesty and accountability are the norm rather than the exception. Through case studies drawn from real business situations, you will practice navigating conflicts of interest, understanding your legal and regulatory obligations, and having the courage to speak up when something is not right. You will leave with a clear personal code of ethics and the tools to foster integrity across your entire organization.
What you will learn
- Identify ethical issues in everyday business situations
- Apply ethical frameworks to real-world decisions
- Create a team culture of honesty and accountability
- Understand legal and regulatory compliance basics
Everything in the course
- All 18 concepts of Ethics Learning, in 2 modules
- A diagnosis first — the Coach finds where you actually stand before teaching
- Learn, Practice, Prove for every concept — no passive video watching
- A test-out on every concept: prove you know it and move on
- The Voice Coach: talk with the Coach out loud — it speaks, listens, and replies
- A personal Learner Record of your work across the course
- Two capstone exercises: The Gray File and My Code, In Writing
- A printable session summary whenever you pause
- The Lighthouse Coach completion certificate (Signature Series)
- Your progress is saved as you go — stop anytime, resume where you left off
Built for individuals and teams
Ethics Learning is for individuals and teams who work in the gray areas of business — where the right answer is not always the obvious one, and where small compromises compound over time. It is for anyone who wants to recognize ethical dilemmas before they escalate, apply a principled framework instead of an instinct, and have the courage to speak up when something is not right.
It is also for leaders who want honesty and accountability to be the norm on their team rather than the exception, and who are willing to start with a clear personal code of their own.
Two boundaries apply here, too. The legal and regulatory material is compliance basics taught in general terms only — it is not legal advice, and specific legal questions belong with your company's own Legal or Compliance function. And every scenario you will practice on is an original invention — no real company, scandal, or person — so the work stays on the dilemma in front of you and the judgment you bring to it.
Prefer to learn live and in person? The same material anchors Cognosco's one-day programs — browse the in-person catalog.
Start with the diagnosis
$195 — introductory price. One payment. No subscription, no password to manage.
Here is exactly what happens when you enroll:
- Pay securely with Stripe — you are taken straight into the course
- Create your learner profile and begin the Module 1 diagnosis
- Save the access key you are given — it restores your enrollment on any device
- Learn at your pace; your progress is stored in your browser on your device
For the full voice experience, use Chrome and allow the microphone when asked. Typing your answers works everywhere, all the time. Questions before you enroll? Email hello@cognoscolearning.com.
More Signature Courses are coming
Ethics Learning is Signature Course No. 14. Leave your email and we'll send you news of future Signature Courses and Lighthouse updates as they are announced — nothing else.