Some of my favorite homework problems are not homework problems at all, but, rather, more open-ended project-based assignments that elevate students' thinking toward the top of Bloom's Taxonomy. While some students may have the background to jump into a project-based assignment, most benefit from an increasing level of scaffolding. This not only brings all students to a common level from which they can develop a more coherent project, but it also provides multiple opportunities for them to solidify their understanding and build on curated, worked examples. This talk will explore two different types of courses, one theory-based and one experiential, each benefiting from a scaffolded framing for a more open-ended signal processing or data analysis project.