Research
Research topics include issues related to the process of reading and reading instruction such as analysis of reader response, classroom interaction about texts, the effectiveness of reading interventions, and the validity of various reading assessment practices, e.g., reading comprehension tests.
Tengberg is engaged in several research projects, for example Inquiry Dialogue to Promote Comprehension and Interpretation, which investigates whether repeated criteria-based feedback to teachers followed by video-based group reflection improves the quality of teacher-led discussions about complex literary texts, and Framing Reading Across Mediums (FRAME), investigating how the transition from print to screen and audio affects both the reading itself and the teaching of reading in today’s hybrid lower secondary classrooms.
Tengberg was part of the Nordic research centre Quality in Nordic Teaching (QUINT), which compared the quality of classroom instruction across three subjects in the five Nordic countries.
Selected publications
Tengberg, M., & Granström, M. (2025). Högläsning för yngre elever. Läs- och skrivsvårigheter & Dyslexi, temanummer, 6–9.
Tengberg, M., Johansson, M., & Sønneland, M. (2025). The open work and the closing reading: Navigating openness and ambiguity in literature discussions. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 25(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.21248/l1esll.2025.25.1.782
Blikstad-Balas, M., Jenset, I. S., Tengberg, M., Rasmussen, H. F., & Graf, S. T. (2024). How can a common language be created for targeted discussions about video clips? In M. Blikstad-Balas & I. S. Jenset (Eds.), Using video to foster teacher development: Improving professional practice through adaptation and reflection (pp. 84–96). Routledge.
Jenset, I. S., Tengberg, M., Sigurðardóttir, A. K., Sigþórsson, R., Magnusson, C. G., & Brataas, G. (2024). The benefits of using videos for developing teachers’ professional vision. In M. Blikstad-Balas & I. S. Jenset (Eds.), Using video to foster teacher development: Improving professional practice through adaptation and reflection (pp. 17–32). Routledge.
Tengberg, M., Skar, G. B., & Huebner, A. (2024). The impact of observable and perceived features of instruction on student achievement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 139, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104457
Tengberg, M., Johansson, M., & Sønneland, M. (2023). Dialogue and defamiliarization: The conceptual framing of an intervention for challenging readers and improving the quality of literature discussions. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 23(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.21248/l1esll.2023.23.2.566
Tengberg, M., Forssten Seiser, A., Wejrum, M., Evermark, M., & Pilfalk, M. (2022). Linking Instruction and Student Achievement – Professional Learning Observations of Teaching (LISA-PLOT). Huvudrapport. Institutionen för pedagogiska studier, Karlstads universitet. http://kau.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1710710/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Tengberg, M. (red.) (2022). Undervisningskvalitet i svenska klassrum. Studentlitteratur. https://www.studentlitteratur.se/kompetensutveckling/skola-7-gyvux/undervisning-och-metod/undervisningskvalitet-i-svenska-klassrum/
Tengberg, M., Blikstad-Balas, M., & Roe, A. (2022). Missed opportunities of text-based instruction: What characterizes learning of interpretation if strategies are not taught and students not challenged? Teaching and Teacher Education, 115, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103698
Blikstad-Balas, M., Klette, K., & Tengberg, M. (2021). Ways of analyzing teaching quality: Potentials and pitfalls. Universitetsforlaget. https://www.idunn.no/doi/pdf/10.18261/9788215045054-2021
Tengberg, M., van Bommel, J., Nilsberth, M., Walkert, M., & Nissen, A. (2022). The quality of instruction in Swedish lower secondary language arts and mathematics. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(5), 760–777. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1910564
Tengberg, M. & Wejrum, M. (2021). Observation och återkoppling med fokus på utvecklad undervisning: Professionsutveckling med hjälp av PLATO. Acta Didactica Norden, 15(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.7985
Lindholm, A. & Tengberg, M. (2019). The reading development of Swedish L2 middle school students and its relation to reading strategy use. Reading Psychology, 40(8), 782–813. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2019.1674432
Tengberg, M. (2019). Nationella läsprov i ett skandinaviskt perspektiv. Viden om literacy, 25, 58–62. https://www.videnomlaesning.dk/media/2761/25_michael-tengberg.pdf
Tengberg, M. (2019). Textanvändning och texttolkning i svenskundervisningen på högstadiet. Nordic Journal of Literacy Research, 5(1), 18–37. https://nordicliteracy.net/index.php/njlr/article/view/1488
Tengberg, M. (2018). Validation of sub-constructs in reading comprehension tests using teachers’ classification of cognitive targets. Language Assessment Quarterly, 15(2), 169–182. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15434303.2018.1448820