<![CDATA[Social Studies (IPS) learning in elementary schools still faces challenges, particularly the dominance of teacher-centered instruction and the limited use of socio-cultural contexts that are closely connected to students’ everyday lives. This condition limits students’ opportunities to develop critical thinking skills, particularly in identifying problems, analyzing information, evaluating alternatives, and formulating solutions. The local wisdom of Bima has the potential to serve as a source of authentic problems that can be integrated into Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to create contextual and meaningful Social Studies learning. This study aims to develop a Social Studies Learning Model based on PBL integrated with Bima local wisdom and to analyze its potential to improve elementary school students’ critical thinking skills. The study employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The model was developed using the ADDIE framework, consisting of Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. The research was conducted in elementary schools in Bima City and Bima Regency, with an implementation trial involving 25 students. Data were collected through observations, interviews, questionnaires, expert validation, and pre- and post-learning tests. The data were analyzed descriptively to examine changes in students’ learning outcomes. The developed model demonstrated a very high level of validity, with validation scores of 96.67% from the subject-matter expert, 95% from the media expert, and 98.33% from the Bima local-wisdom expert. In the large-class implementation, the students’ mean score increased from 58.32% on the pre-test to 76.52% on the post-test, representing an improvement of 18.20 percentage points. All 25 students demonstrated improved scores, with individual gains ranging from 5 to 32 points. Meanwhile, the standard deviation decreased from 18.47 to 9.79, indicating a tendency toward reduced disparities in achievement among students. The novelty of this study lies in the systematic integration of PBL syntax with Bima local wisdom as a source of authentic problems and learning resources, rather than merely treating local wisdom as supplementary content. Local values and practices, including Maja Labo Dahu, Nggahi Rawi Pahu, Karawi Kaboju, Rimpu, as well as cultural and environmental preservation, are constructed as contexts for inquiry, discussion, argumentation, evaluation, and problem solving.]]>
