**5. Conclusions**

The MR-S has the potential to connect the goals of higher education with the formation of professional identity that is intended when discipline-specific guidelines are formulated and published. The Ethical Codes and Guidelines that exist for disciplines are typically complex and require instruction and practice, and becoming a steward of a discipline also requires attention and focus for initiation and development of the defining characteristics. The MR-S maps observable but flexible performance level descriptions across academic and professional development.

Two main conclusions may be drawn from this project. First, the formation of stewards is a worthy goal for *all* higher education—at doctoral, master, and undergraduate levels. Expanding the stewardship model, and facilitating the development of stewardly habits throughout a curriculum, promote achievement of both the expertise (journeyman) and the mentorship (Master) that are necessary for the ongoing vitality and vigor of each discipline as well as in cross-, trans-, and inter-disciplinary work. Second, the MR-S outlines how curricula could be conceptualized so that they promote the KSAs of stewardship and their development.

While not all practitioners have opportunities to do (or job descriptions that include) all of the elements of stewardship, all practitioners can engage with these elements, and they *should* be engaged with their disciplinary guidelines (if they exist; see [43]) and the most stewardly—or steward-*like*—conduct possible. Practitioners in fields or disciplines that do not have ethical guidelines (e.g., economics) can also use a stewardship model, and its developmental trajectory, to integrate attention to professionalism (or ethics) throughout a curriculum. Inculcating the attitudes and commitments of stewardship in any given major, certificate, or training program has the potential to

encourage the translation of these commitments to any discipline or profession in which graduates may engage.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/9/4/292/s1, Table S1: Cognitive Task Analysis Methodology used for KSA identification. Figure S1: A two-phase application of cognitive task analysis to identify KSAs in the Mastery Rubric for Stewardship.

**Author Contributions:** All authors contributed to construction of the MR-S and to writing the paper. R.E.T.: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis (SFN, ASA); Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Validation; Visualization; Writing—original draft; Writing—review & editing. C.M.R.: Data curation; Formal analysis (AHA); Writing—original draft; Writing—review & editing. C.M.G.: Writing—original draft; Writing—review & editing. All co-authors take responsibility for the manuscript contents, in accordance with authorship guidelines published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

## **Appendix A Bloom's Taxonomy**

Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive complexity [23] specifies a hierarchy with six levels of cognitive skills or functioning:

