This paper presents an observation protocol to explore group processing in cooperative learning. Use of structured roles can help facilitate cooperative learning, decrease attrition and failure rates, and improve student performance. Our observation protocol was created to capture how groups work together in small group activities and was developed by observing three different computer science courses during the Spring 2021 semester. Percent agreement using a subset of observations suggested good interrater reliability (91.29%). We also extend a previous equality metric to quantify the rates of student participation, and found that it offered good differentiation between groups where one student contributed the most and groups where students contributed equally. We present example applications of the observation protocol related to help-seeking patterns.