Typical science curricula use traditional cookbooks for the laboratory courses, which may result in students' lack of understanding of science in those courses. To address this problem and to enhance students' hands-on experience and critical thinking, the half-semester research-based laboratory was implemented in a microbiology course. After learning basic microbiological techniques, students explored a research topic by submitting a research proposal, conducting a research independently, and submitting a final report. Based on the pre- and post-lab exams, students did not show significant improvement after the research activity; however, the post-survey found that students clearly showed more positive attitudes toward the course and high confidence in laboratory tasks. During the presentation, the structure and components of research-based laboratory will be discussed and the outcomes will be shared with the audience who want to implement research-based activity in their courses.
