Technology provides the means to create useful learning and practice environments for learners. Well-designed cognitive tutor systems, for example, can provide appropriate learning environments that feature cognitive supports (ie, scaffolding) for students to increase their procedural knowledge. The purpose of this study was to conduct a series of usability tests of a dialogue-based design framework for the presentation of domain knowledge and assess how it can be used to actively engage learners in learning about research methods. Three formal usability assessments and an instructor adoption assessment were conducted during the development of the tutoring system. Each usability assessment employed diverse data collection methods to ensure broad and in-depth coverage of findings. The findings revealed that the dialogue metaphor enabled natural and participatory interactions between the system and users. The feedback prompts or hints and support resources provided opportunities for learning during the process of problem solving. Future research to extend the support of usability assessments is also discussed.