PA-28R instructor reported 300 feet altitude deviation occurred when the aircraft encountered either...

Attributes
ACN	1530776
Time
Date	201803
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	RSW.TRACON
State Reference	FL
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-28R Cherokee Arrow All Series
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Vectors Direct Airway V157
Flight Plan	IFR
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Other unknown
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Instructor
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180 Flight Crew Total 1950 Flight Crew Type 200
Events
Anomaly	Conflict Airborne Conflict Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence Inflight Event / Encounter Wake Vortex Encounter
Miss Distance	Horizontal 1500 Vertical 600

Narrative:

I was on training flight with a student to miami international airport. The aircraft being used that night was a PA-28R-200. The flight was uneventful for the most part except for some occasional moderate turbulence due to high winds at our cruise level.as the flight approached the lbv VOR; we noticed an increasing amount of traffic crossing; either directly overhead or slightly west of our position inbound to rsw; which was normal during that time of the day. Suddenly; the aircraft passed through much stronger turbulence; which caused a substantial amount of altitude to be gained (+\- 300ft). I promptly took controls from my student in an attempt to bring the aircraft under control and back to its assigned altitude of 9;000 feet. As the situation unfolded; ATC ordered that we descend immediately due to arriving traffic overhead; which was not answered back immediately due to my concentration being to fly the aircraft back to our altitude. Shortly after; ATC advised us of a 'possible pilot deviation' and gave us a phone number to call after we landed at our destination. The flight [continued] without further complications.I believe that we may have encountered residues of wake turbulence from the overhead traffic; which appeared to be mostly jet aircraft. If not; it was heavy turbulence due to strong winds at our flight level. Some of the contributing factors to this situation would include; in my opinion; the student having controls of the aircraft at the time of the incident and a delayed response time from instructor due to a surprise factor and general instability of the atmosphere surrounding the airplane at that time.one way of correcting this situation is to be aware of possible wake turbulence created by heavier aircraft and request an alteration of course from ATC. This way; the aircraft would remain clear of any possible vortexes produced.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-28R instructor reported 300 feet altitude deviation occurred when the aircraft encountered either turbulence or wake from overflying jet aircraft.

Narrative: I was on training flight with a student to Miami International airport. The aircraft being used that night was a PA-28R-200. The flight was uneventful for the most part except for some occasional moderate turbulence due to high winds at our cruise level.As the flight approached the LBV VOR; we noticed an increasing amount of traffic crossing; either directly overhead or slightly west of our position inbound to RSW; which was normal during that time of the day. Suddenly; the aircraft passed through much stronger turbulence; which caused a substantial amount of altitude to be gained (+\- 300ft). I promptly took controls from my student in an attempt to bring the aircraft under control and back to its assigned altitude of 9;000 feet. As the situation unfolded; ATC ordered that we descend immediately due to arriving traffic overhead; which was not answered back immediately due to my concentration being to fly the aircraft back to our altitude. Shortly after; ATC advised us of a 'possible pilot deviation' and gave us a phone number to call after we landed at our destination. The flight [continued] without further complications.I believe that we may have encountered residues of wake turbulence from the overhead traffic; which appeared to be mostly jet aircraft. If not; it was heavy turbulence due to strong winds at our flight level. Some of the contributing factors to this situation would include; in my opinion; the student having controls of the aircraft at the time of the incident and a delayed response time from instructor due to a surprise factor and general instability of the atmosphere surrounding the airplane at that time.One way of correcting this situation is to be aware of possible wake turbulence created by heavier aircraft and request an alteration of course from ATC. This way; the aircraft would remain clear of any possible vortexes produced.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.